


keep running for me

by hybridrep



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, M/M, Pack Dynamics, Slow Burn, raw meat blood bags and at some point biting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-10-29 21:18:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10862292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybridrep/pseuds/hybridrep
Summary: For the first time in his life, Minhyuk finds himself running, and for a good reason at that — he gets bitten and thrown into a pack of werewolves that think they’re some kind of military of the supernatural. And like that isn’t enough of mythical creatures, on his run he comes across vampires as well.Fortunately, what starts as an unwanted incident leads Minhyuk to finding something beyond supernatural.





	1. Chapter 1

 

It’s been raining ever since he left. Two days. Even though it wears Minhyuk down more, he’s grateful — rain washes away his scent along with his tracks. Since nobody has caught up with him yet, there’s a big chance they will let him go, in the end. 

If they’re not as determined as they were to turn him, that is. 

Minhyuk’s fur is all mud and sweat. It mixes with the rain, sticking to his fur, never getting to being completely washed away but rubbed into his skin. He isn’t sure he knows how to turn back into his human form. Not that he would like that — he’s quite sure the body of a wolf can endure more, and travel faster. Being his lanky human self in the middle of the forest while there’s a downpour, naked, wouldn’t do him any good. 

The pang in his stomach borders on unbearable but he pushes his paws forward. Maybe his wolf would take over to feed itself if all the living creatures weren’t hiding in this weather. Minhyuk highly doubts that with his human senses tuned in he would be able to kill an animal to eat it, and do it raw. Just the thought alone makes him let out a faint whine. 

He shouldn’t have been turned. 

The last thing he remembers is another night falling over the sky, stars invisible with the heavy crowns of trees overhead, and the rain not coming lighter even a bit. Then, there are silhouettes among the barks, and with a shiver of  _ it’s over _ Minhyuk collapses into a puddle of mud and fallen leaves.

 

 

It’s still — or maybe again — dark when he wakes up. There’s an ache in his bones and he’s cold; there’s no fur to shield him from the chill autumn air. 

He’s cold even though he’s somewhere inside. The only window in the room is narrow, placed high — right under the ceiling. He gets a pretty good idea why he’s this cold, and where he might be. 

Underground. 

Did they find him at last and take him hostage? Minhyuk isn’t that sure, he can’t smell them. There’s a tang of earth and blood and, oddly — flowers, but not wolf. The only one here is Minhyuk himself, and not a very clean one. He’s got all the sheets dirty. 

Busy looking all around and sniffing the air, he almost misses somebody entering the room. His senses aren’t as sharp with his body exhausted this much. 

“Oh—you’re awake,” the man states the obvious. He appears to be as young as Minhyuk. He doesn’t hurry to close the door, just stands by the entrance with a curious gaze. If this is not some kind of decoy, it might even look like Minhyuk has been rescued — not trapped. “I believe you’re not hurt.” He breaks into a small smile. “But, surely, you must be hungry.” His expression changes, and he snorts, ducking his head. “We don’t have much, though.” 

Minhyuk cocks his head to the side, confused. This guy acts quite friendly for a total stranger. And if he’s understood correctly, he’s offering Minhyuk food. 

Since his turning, everyone has expected something of him, not giving much in return. But this is a completely new experience, one that brings back memories from his human life. It hasn’t even been that long since then but it already feels like ages ago. If his pack ever taught him anything, it would be to be wary at all times. They didn’t have a lot of good advice to give but this one means something Minhyuk can relate to — it’s self-preservation. 

Minhyuk licks his lips, dry from exhaustion and the lack of sustenance. He must be wary, of course he must if he wants to live, but without food he won’t be able to fight a mere human. He gives the man a crooked smile in return. “I am,” he croaks out, “hungry, yes.” 

The man’s mouth stretches further and only then Minhyuk realizes he’s not dealing with a human, mere or not. Even when he gains back some of his strength, Minhyuk won’t be able to fight a vampire — and win. With fangs that flash even though the room stays unlit, and power for sure greater than the one of a newly turned werewolf, Minhyuk doesn’t stand a chance. He’s just a cub, as the pack used to call him. Young, barely trained, stronger than humans but not enough, not yet. 

When Minhyuk snarls, it’s more at the thought than the vampire, but his brows still shoot up. 

With his hands up in the air, he backs off a step. “I might be a fan of leashes but don’t make me use one on you,” he jokes. For a bad dog reference, it doesn’t sound very malicious. “Can you walk? C’mon, then.” 

Minhyuk rolls out of bed with difficulty but he manages. It’s cold down here, which doesn’t help Minhyuk to feel unthreatened, and in combination with the unfamiliar smell he needs to fight the urge to turn. What’s easy to ignore, surprisingly, is the voice of the man that turned him saying vampires are enemies. The same man who made him do things he won't ever not regret doing holds no power over him anymore. Now, Minhyuk has a chance to find out on his own. 

The whole house is veiled in darkness. Were Minhyuk still human, he wouldn’t be able to see his feet. Thanks to his supernatural senses he only stumbles over a step climbing up because of his tiredness, nothing else. If the vampire takes notice of it, he doesn’t let it show. 

“I’m Hoseok. I know it’s not common between vampires and werewolves to help each other…” he starts off, chuckling uneasily. He stops in front of the fridge, and when he wrings it open, the inside doesn’t light up. 

Minhyuk could have been blinded and still he would know it's filled up with blood. Blood, and something else, something... 

"Raw meat?" Minhyuk croaks out, reaching his hands out without a second thought. He doesn't particularly enjoy eating it uncooked in his human form, but he's been starving for days. His stomach tugs at the smell, more prominent when the real thing is finally in Minhyuk's hand. It’s not particularly fresh, but beggars can’t be choosers, can they?

Hoseok doesn't say anything, and doesn't try stopping him. 

"I wish it was roasted," Minhyuk mumbles but takes a chunk of it between his teeth anyway. "Why do you even have this in your fridge?" he asks, mouth full. 

Hoseok doesn't get to answer the question. Another person, undeniably undead, appears out of nowhere at the kitchen island. 

"Ew, that's disgusting." 

Minhyuk furrows his brows. He doesn't stop chewing. 

"Hyungwon," Hoseok says on a sigh. He rounds the island to get to the other vampire only to touch his face. The way Hyungwon swats at his hand is half-hearted, and Minhyuk coughs around a big piece of meat he's put in his mouth when Hoseok sucks the same fingers that have touched Hyungwon's face into his mouth. "Sated?" He asks around a smile. 

Hyungwon scoffs. "Did you contact Hyunwoo?”

“Yeah,” Hoseok answers, and when again he reaches for Hyungwon, the other vampire lets him. 

"Of course you'd let the big alpha know," Hyungwon grumbles.

Minhyuk almost drops the meat when he hears it. Here goes his freedom. He swallows the not completely chewed piece of meat through the lump in his throat, and he coughs, choking up. At least it’s a good excuse for the tears in the corners of his eyes, or Minhyuk would curse his bad luck.

Mindful of his strength, Hoseok claps him on the back. “Careful,” he says. With the other hand he closes the fridge when Hyungwon chides him about it. “You should take more rest. You’ll meet the others tomorrow.” He turns back to Hyungwon. “Can you believe Kihyun said we shouldn’t bring strays home?”

"Said the original stray one," Hyungwon deadpans.

Hoseok laughs, and it sounds nice, nice enough for it to be contagious. If Minhyuk wasn’t upset, that is.

"Why is everyone using the damn dog references," he pouts. There are no plates so he puts the meat right on the countertop with a smack. Hoseok lets out disgruntled sound. "I'm not even—a dog." 

"You just wait until you actually meet Kihyun. This one was actually pretty weak," Hyungwon says with a haunting smile.

Minhyuk only makes a face, picking the meat up again and biting into it with fervor. He already imagines how it might go. Getting away from one pack has never meant he won’t come across another.

 

 

"You were right. He's just a pup." 

That’s the first thing Minhyuk hears when a pack of werewolves comes the next evening for something that reminds him of an evaluation. Minhyuk guesses the one that’s spoken up first must be Kihyun. Minhyuk’s nose twitches but he fights the urge to scrunch it. 

“A cute one,” the third guy adds with his head tilted to the side. 

They stand on both sides of a man who’s the largest among them — a pack leader, for sure. The fourth one, because that’s how many of them came, is checking the content of the cabinets, so far uninterested in Minhyuk’s presence. 

In any other given situation Minhyuk would be happy with the attention, even mildly miffed that the fourth werewolf doesn’t care, but not now. To fall from the claws of one pack into another’s right after he manages to escape is making Minhyuk’s spirit fall. Werewolves and vampires, what a combination. 

Minhyuk tenses when the leader takes one long step closer. Minhyuk meets his eyes straight up, his last resolve, his bluster taking the better of him. The face he stares at seems expressionless, not kind but neither hostile. He doesn’t look exactly unfriendly, his mouth and eyes soft, but Minhyuk knows better than to trust it. Again, taking on the only lesson from the man who turned him to heart.

“What’s your name?” The leader asks, and it does sound nice. Minhyuk’s fists unclench from his sweatpants. His in theory, because the vampires lent them to him. When Minhyuk doesn’t answer right away, he offers his name first. “I’m Hyunwoo.” 

“I—,” Minhyuk starts but his voice cracks. Must be from nerves, and Minhyuk, slightly embarrassed, tries again. “I’m Minhyuk.” 

Hyunwoo only nods. The silence that follows doesn’t ease Minhyuk’s mind. He’s still wary. 

“Are we taking him in?” The one on the left, the same who called Minhyuk cute, asks. He doesn’t look excited per se, but rather… hopeful. If Minhyuk reads the emotion in his tiny eyes right. 

“He can’t stay here, Jooheon,” Hyunwoo says, contemplative. Minhyuk isn’t sure how much Hyunwoo has a say in someone’s else house, but at least he learns another name. 

“Well, we won’t kick him out.” Hoseok sounds defensive but also sour. Of course a vampire wouldn’t want a wolf at his place. 

Hyunwoo’s brows furrow slightly. “I’m not saying—“ 

“Do you want to check our place, pup?” 

Is this really Kihyun? Because instead of another dog pun, he actually asks for Minhyuk’s opinion in all of this, thank you very much. 

“Thank you very much,” he says out loud all the same, “for letting me decide for myself… and that would be a yes. Please.” He’s not exactly sure it’s a good idea, but what other option does he have? 

At that, finally, Hyunwoo’s expression changes dramatically. His face splits into a smile, teeth showing and eyes disappearing. Now, that's the look of a puppy. 

"We should go for a run." 

Finally, the fourth guy speaks up. If Hyunwoo didn't look the strongest out of them, Minhyuk would assume he's the leader. 

Kihyun snickers. "As expected of the youngest one." 

Well, that comes as a surprise. But Minhyuk has bigger concerns at the moment. 

"It'd be safe, right?" He asks. Then, even though the answer is pretty much clear, he adds, "Is this your territory?" 

He gets some nods, even from the vampires, and Hyunwoo says, "For some years, yes." 

Right. Vampires.

"Yours—too?" Minhyuk turns to Hoseok, still uncertain how this whole deal works. 

"Vampires don't really have territories." It's Hyungwon who answers in his slurred but pleasant voice. Kihyun opens his mouth like he's ready to argue that, but Hyungwon shoots him a glare and continues. "We have areas where we hunt and those change often, but we settle in one place to live. For a time, at least." He cracks a smile. "It's the life of an undead, but, yeah." 

Turns out, Kihyun still has something to say after that. "You don't even hunt." 

"You ain't even a real wolf," Hyungwon bites back, but they both snicker at that. 

Of course they don’t hate each other for real. It would be well excused, but Minhyuk recognizes friendly banter when he sees it. He was told those two species are enemies, can’t coexist together, but it wouldn’t be the first lie he’s ever heard from them. Or maybe this bunch is special, and they’re the exception that proves the rule. If anything, Minhyuk’s aware of prejudices in this world. 

Kihyun isn't as careful as Hyunwoo, and he comes at Minhyuk incautiously. "C'mon. Nights are getting longer, but not that much yet." He grabs Minhyuk by the wrist despite him taking a step back. 

"Please, update us on things, okay?" Hoseok asks, and he looks genuinely concerned. 

It doesn't go unnoticed when Hyungwon takes his hand in his. Kihyun raises his brows, and Jooheon, who’s managed to drape himself over Hyunwoo, smiles right at their faces. Changkyun is the least interested, pacing around. 

Hyunwoo clears his throat. "I will. Now, uh, we're going." He dislodges Jooheon with a lot of gentleness for somebody this big. 

"See you, guys!" Minhyuk throws over his shoulder as Kihyun leads him to the door. "And thanks! Ah, damn, I'm wearing their clothes," he mutters when they step outside. 

"You're leaving them here, anyway," Changkyun says. Despite his words he doesn’t get on that right away. He blinks at Minhyuk and then looks away to stare at the treeline. 

Minhyuk's eyes go wide, and then he's covering them with both hands when one by one they start taking their clothes off. It's not exactly the first time people get naked in front of him — he spent a few months in a pack — but they just met, like, five minutes ago. He turns around, embarrassed, fingers skimming over the fabric of his sweatpants. If he doesn't want to ruin the clothes that aren't even his... 

"Okay, let's just—" he mumbles, twisting the hem between his fingers. He grinds his teeth, and pulls it all off in one go. 

"Nice ass." 

When Minhyuk whirls around to check who said that, there are four wolves on the porch. Now, he's showing them his naked front, and he complains out loud, yelling at them to turn away. The washed-out hoodie he's been wearing is thrown away even faster, and he urges his bones to move. The sound they make as they shift, molding to become the skeleton of a wolf, is like that of a fireplace — snapping and cracking, like twigs eaten by flames. 

The first wolf surges forward even before all four of Minhyuk's paws hit the floor. The big black one — Hyunwoo — gnarls, and follows. 

And so does the rest, the whole pack running into the trees — into the night. 

 

 

But the pack house’s smell, in contrast to the scent of the greenery and the night, is threatening. Minhyuk starts growling before he's able to stop himself. 

The four wolves wait, their eyes following every one of his breaths. Nobody challenges him; nobody tries making him submit. Minhyuk snarls, more at himself than at them, lowering his head right after, embarrassed and frustrated. He fights his stiff paws and bends, until he's laying on the floor. And then, he just rolls over. 

"He's so weird," Kihyun says, turning back to his human form. He disappears into the house right away. 

"But cute!" Jooheon calls back after him. He disappears soon after. 

If Minhyuk was to name one disadvantage of being a werewolf, it would be being naked after shedding the wolf's skin. He has always shied away from doing it in front of the whole pack, but one can only do so much with a porch as small as this one. For now, he's too busy scenting the wood and bricks to care if they're going to leave him alone or, once again this night — see him naked. 

Changkyun is the next one to pad away. It's not a surprise Hyunwoo remains last, but what isn't expected is him launching forward to tackle Minhyuk to the floor. Minhyuk’s wolf, more instinct than reason, knows what is this all about before it catches on with his human mind; he's trying to ease Minhyuk in by playing with him. 

"Enough," Minhyuk says on a laugh, panting. At this point he doesn't even care he's laying there naked, fingers uncurling from around Hyunwoo's fur as he starts turning back as well. 

"Let's sleep," Hyunwoo commands. He lifts himself up without a hustle, offering Minhyuk his hand when he doesn't move to follow. "C'mon." 

It dawns on Minhyuk then, just as they go upstairs, that he really has nothing. No clothes, no bed to sleep in. It's a thought that makes his heart sting, his throat closing up. He frowns, blinking his eyes to will the tears away. 

He takes a shuddering breath. "Where do I—" 

"Ah," Hyunwoo gives a start, stopping in his tracks. He offers Minhyuk an embarrassed half-smile. "We don't have any additional rooms set up for now." He looks away, into the corridor. "Has your pack ever slept in a pile?" 

His pack. That doesn't sound right, but he says nothing to correct Hyunwoo. The fucked up leader that turned him demanded it during full moons to increase some kind of werewolf mojo. Minhyuk hated it, but he also hated those people, so that might have been the main reason. 

"Yeah," Minhyuk admits at last, and even to his own ears it sounds bitter. 

"We only do it when we feel like it, or if anybody needs it..." Hyunwoo hesitates for a moment. "You can sleep in my bed if you want. Until we arrange something for you." 

Maybe it should light a red lamp for Minhyuk, the way Hyunwoo speaks of him as if he were a part of this pack already. He hasn't agreed to anything yet, hasn't said he would stay. But until now, they haven't taken anything from him as the previous pack did. All they have done so far is to offer, so maybe there's a chance it'll turn out better this time around. 

Minhyuk shrugs, smiling despite himself. "It's better than the floor, right?" 

Hyunwoo actually laughs at that, and when he opens the door to what Minhyuk presumes is his room it's hard for him to conceal his awe.

"Oh, wow," Minhyuk exhales. The room might not be on the bigger side, but the bed definitely is. It takes at least half of the floor space. "That's..." 

"For the piles," Hyunwoo reminds, and Minhyuk is happy he didn't finish his thought, because he'd say it's for Hyunwoo's frame. It might be too early into their relationship for this type of jokes. Hyunwoo dives into a corner closet and throws a pair of sweats at Minhyuk. "We'll figure clothes out tomorrow, but you can wear anything from here. Now, let's sleep. I'm dead tired." 

Hyunwoo all but jumps onto the bed, closing his eyes right away. He leaves so much space that not one but two Minhyuks would fit there. At least he has some respect for personal space, not like— 

This comparison streak should end. Minhyuk releases a breath, willing his limbs to relax. He falls asleep with his back to Hyunwoo, too embarrassed to lie in any other position. He curls into a ball, and only then the tiredness catches up with him. It’s strong enough to keep at bay the overwhelming cloud of worries and let sleep take over finally. He drifts off feeling almost content. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Remembering he wasn't touching Hyunwoo with even an inch of skin last night, it comes as a shock when Minhyuk wakes up with his back pressed to Hyunwoo’s side. It isn’t even that cold in there — on the contrary, the blanket Hyunwoo has pulled over them is now tangled between their feet. 

The door isn’t entirely closed, only cracked by an inch. Minhyuk has a very vivid idea that the door, locked or not, wouldn’t stop anyone from the pack from walking right in. Kihyun is the first example of that. At least he pushes the door open gently.

“Have we already adopted him?” he asks from the doorway. 

Minhyuk hasn’t been sleeping for a while now and he catches on Kihyun’s assessing gaze. He tries to move away from Hyunwoo but the sheets are wrapped around their ankles too tightly. Minhyuk feels the tremendous avidity to curse. 

“Haven’t we?” Jooheon says from around Kihyun, his head appearing over Kihyun’s arm. “We should ask dad.” 

Kihyun gives him a poke on the forehead. 

"What's going on?" 

It must have woken Hyunwoo up at last. He doesn't really mind Minhyuk laying right next to him and stretches on the bed, blinking his eyes open as his body unwinds. 

"Breakfast’s soon," Kihyun says cleverly, and with a last glance at them, he leaves. 

Jooheon follows him with his eyes, a small hitch between his brows. Minhyuk takes it as an opportunity to hold himself up and try untangling his feet so he can find out more about said breakfast. He's hungry enough to ignore every one of Kihyun's jabs. And there might be a lot of those if Jooheon — Minhyuk doesn’t suspect Hyunwoo doing him dirty — tells Kihyun how Minhyuk face-plants onto the floor as he tries getting up. Because that's exactly what happens. 

"Ouch," Minhyuk whines, rolling onto his side. Maybe he won't sport spectacular bruises thanks to werewolf fast healing process, but whatever causes them still hurts like hell. "This is really not my year." Both Jooheon and Hyunwoo hurry to help him stand up. "Thanks." 

They gather in the kitchen downstairs, every one of them in a different state of undress. Both Kihyun and Jooheon have their pants on but Kihyun's are short, while Changkyun doesn't wear any — just an oversized T-shirt. Hyunwoo might be wearing both top and bottom, but his tank-top reveals more than it covers. While it might be distracting for Minhyuk — at least for now — it's also heartwarming. It seems they’re all living very comfortably. And it’s a lot nicer than his old pack, whose presence never made Minhyuk feel at ease.

"Are we getting him a bed, or making one?" Kihyun asks, and obviously the question isn't meant for Minhyuk. 

He looks between the four of them. Making a bed? 

"With everything we should get, making one would be more reasonable," Kihyun continues, "if we get the wood right after breakfast it should be ready for tonight." 

Hyunwoo is munching on his food like he's mulling his answer over. After he swallows, he gives an affirmative nod. "Let's do that." 

It visibly pleases Kihyun, a small smile breaking over his lips. Until now, Minhyuk thought he looked rather scary, but when the corners of his eyes crinkle and the lines around his mouth deepen, it makes him look cute. And a lot younger. Minhyuk should try making him laugh, sometime. 

"We should go further into the woods so nobody sees a cut-off bark," Jooheon notes. They all hum their agreement. 

Minhyuk can't keep himself from asking. "Do you just... go and make furniture like that?" 

"We don't have a lot of money to spend," Jooheon admits matter-of-factly. "We work with what we’ve got." 

It's not like Minhyuk tried to be condescending or anything, and it makes him feel bad. He pokes at his food, biting onto his lip. "So," he tries again, "did you make anything in here?" 

Jooheon taps the table. "This, for example. And most of the beds, obviously. Some shelves, too." 

"Wow," Minhyuk gasps in awe. That's really quite impressive.

Everything around the house is either raw wood or pieces that look worn from use. Sometimes it’s a mix of both, accompanied by random IKEA bits here and there. Instead of the grating impression of mismatch one would expect, the whole ensemble gives off a home-like vibe Minhyuk has been aching for for months.

"Actually," Kihyun says after a moment of eating in silence, "the one you slept on last night was made by its owner." 

Hyunwoo doesn't say a word, eyes never leaving his plate. Minhyuk squints at Kihyun. He is not going to give into his teasing that easily. Jooheon and Changkyun are having some kind of silent conversation going on across the table, and Minhyuk seriously gives up; he goes to take shower without a word. 

There are towels under the sink, and he remembers to grab some clothes from Hyunwoo's closet. He hesitates in front of the underwear drawer but in the end grabs a pair of boxer briefs. Hyunwoo doesn't seem like the type to get mad about this kind of thing. 

Minhyuk comes back to Hyunwoo making the bed, tank top discarded. He gives Minhyuk a once-over, and Minhyuk catches a glimpse of a smile as he goes back to fluffing the pillows up. 

"I'm going to clean myself a bit and then we're ready to go," he informs Minhyuk.

 

 

There’s nothing more for Minhyuk to do than to agree. He nods and flees when Hyunwoo starts taking his sweatpants off. It’ll take time for Minhyuk to get used to the familiarity the pack shares.

Minhyuk's amazement grows with every passing hour as the pack works on making the bed, step by step. They find an adequate tree and take it down. They prepare boards, cutting and polishing them. Then, they nail them together into a frame that looks crude but very stable. The bed even gets a headboard, and Minhyuk can’t hide how much he likes it, smile never leaving his face. 

They gather to admire the outcome of their joined efforts when the sun is almost down, and it’s Changkyun who points out they haven’t thought everything through — they forgot about the mattress.

In all honesty, Minhyuk didn’t think about it, either. All that’s been on his mind is how good it’s going to be to lay in his own bed, made with his own hands. Too bad bare boards wouldn't be very comfortable to rest on. 

Looking over the horizon, Hyunwoo gives a tired-sounding huff. "We'll need to get one tomorrow,” he decides. “It's way too late to go to town now." He puts his hands on his hips, taking deep breaths. He’s done the most work when it came to handling the wood, so he must be the most tired out of all of them. And yet, he moves to grab the bed by its sides, and says, "We can move it inside for now." 

Minhyuk watches as Hyunwoo pushes it through the front door with Jooheon’s help, wondering. Does it mean he's to share the bed with somebody from the pack again? 

"You can sleep in my bed if you want," Kihyun offers, surprising Minhyuk greatly. He's had the idea Kihyun isn't very happy about Minhyuk barging into their lives as if it were nothing, so completely out of nowhere. Maybe Minhyuk was wrong. "Though, I suppose you don't have a problem with sleeping in Hyunwoo's." Or maybe he wasn't. 

"Kihyun," Minhyuk starts, tone going serious. "If my presence here is a problem, I can—" 

"What are you waiting for?!" Jooheon yells from inside the window that must belong to Minhyuk’s room. His own room, with a bed made especially for him. It’s hard to believe how lucky he’s got. "We’re going to call the vamps!" 

"Go scream it in the middle of town," Kihyun grumbles under his nose, but yells back, "Hyungwon's still sleeping for sure!" 

Changkyun's already walking away, and Kihyun takes Minhyuk's hand to drag him inside, too. 

They all gather in the kitchen again. There's enough chairs for all of them and more, but Hyunwoo still opts for leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. Jooheon has put the phone in the middle of the table, switching it on speaker. The signal carries through the kitchen as they wait for — the caller ID says Hoseok — their call to be picked up.

It goes to voicemail but Jooheon doesn’t wait to leave a message. The sun is almost down, but it might be too early for the vampires to be awake yet. They eat dinner but when Hoseok doesn’t call back by the end of it, Jooheon impatiently dials the number again despite some of them not having finished their food yet. After many, many signals, Hoseok answers the phone. 

"Mm," he whimpers into the speaker, "hi?" 

"Hoseokie!" Minhyuk can't hide the excitement to hear him. He's the one that saved him, and there's something about him that’s quickly made him trust the vampire. "How are you?" 

There's some shuffling on the other end of the line. "Uh, barely awake." 

"I thought you were going say you're barely alive for a second," Minhyuk laughs. 

Kihyun is sitting right in front of Minhyuk, blinking up at him. Then, he snorts out loud, shaking his head. "I'd roast him for it if he did," he admits easily. 

"Of course," Hoseok sighs. "You woke me up and I'm so hungry!" The complaint is accompanied by more shuffling, and then Hoseok whines. 

"I'm going to bite you all." 

That's a different voice that undeniably belongs to Hyungwon. 

Kihyun smiles fiendishly. "I'd like to see you try." 

The snort Hyungwon gives as a reply is especially drawn out. "Aren't you calling to talk about Minhyuk?" 

Minhyuk feels the atmosphere tensing, or maybe it's just him. His future is on the line. 

There’s an awkward pause as they all turn to look at Hyunwoo. Giving a shrug Hoseok and Hyungwon can’t even see, he doesn’t voice his answer right away. 

“We built him a bed so far,” he admits at last, and Hoseok makes a corroborative sound at that. “Tomorrow we’ll take care of other stuff.” 

By other stuff, what does Hyunwoo exactly mean? A matching mattress to the bed? Or clothes Minhyuk doesn’t have — not even a pair of underwear, or socks. But what would be the payment for all those things? He doesn’t have a single penny on him. 

Minhyuk is not sure it’s possible to be more anxious than before the weekly tests his previous pack leader always put them through, and yet. He doesn’t even know when he’s started shaking. He gives a little jerk when somebody puts a hand on his shoulder. It’s Jooheon. 

“I can do a lot of things,” Minhyuk blurts out. 

Kihyun gives him a look like he thinks he’s crazy. 

“We’ve never asked, actually, and I could only guess how uncomfortable talking about it must be,” Hoseok says in a small voice. He gives a pause before continuing. “When did they take you? Were you still in school?” 

“Freshly graduated,” Minhyuk answers somberly. "I had everything set up for college. It wasn't even a week into summer break when he bit me." 

Nobody says a word, and Minhyuk, for how much of a talker he usually is, would rather let them speak instead. "It's the pack's technique," he continues at last as it's clear they're waiting to hear it from him. "Pick the best candidates from senior year, and when they're out, admitted to colleges respectively far away from town, turn one, two at best. It's easy to train them during the break, and then they move away from home but it's not to the campus as their parents think. They join the pack, leading their families on as long as possible, and you know what?" At this point Minhyuk's is practically fuming. His breath has quickened, but he doesn't care he's practically on the verge of turning. He catches Kihyun's, then Hyunwoo's gaze. He looks away, taking a calming breath in, and then letting it out slowly. "From what I’ve seen, it works," he finishes, voice gone quiet. 

Jooheon looks like he can't wrap his head around this. "So, your parents think—" 

"That I'm partying away my first — or is it second? — month as a college student, yes." 

Silence falls over the room once again, and Minhyuk wishes they could change the topic of their conversation for a brighter one. Nobody seems to be keen on doing so, though. Everybody looks rather somber. 

Minhyuk doesn't expect Hyungwon to be the next one to speak. 

"Vampire nests can be strangely similar to wolf packs." Minhyuk, for how much becoming a werewolf has fucked his life up, is glad for the heightened hearing right now — Hyungwon's mumbling is difficult to hear through the speaker. "We were part of one whose ways seem to be similar. I was turned willingly, some time ago," Hyungwon snorts. Across the table Kihyun's lips twitch. "But Hoseok, he..." Hyungwon sounds uncomfortable now, regretful. "They thought turning my blood source would make one fun of an event. Especially since he already knew about vampires. Wouldn’t it make him happy?" 

"Blood source," both Kihyun and Hoseok repeat. There's some shuffling on the other end of the line, and Kihyun laughs into his hand. 

"You were my source, Hoseok," Hyungwon stresses. "It was a game for them, like everything. But even if we came around with you becoming a vamp, there's a line to everything." 

"And that's how they found a shelter here," Kihyun sums up, clapping his hands together. 

Minhyuk looks around, suddenly lost. 

"The nest wouldn't make a move on a pack's territory." This time, it's Hyunwoo who explains. "But it's an advantage for us, too. No werewolf comes near vampire lairs." 

And here Minhyuk has been taught they should, no matter the circumstances, hate each other. It looks like they fed him more lies than he thought. 

"So it's plausible for both. I get it." Minhyuk stares at Hyunwoo. He waits for a beat, and when nothing happens, he adds, "I really don't mind." 

Kihyun's laughing again, but Minhyuk ignores him because Hyunwoo gives him a short nod like what he said actually meant something. Maybe it does, for the pack’s alpha. 

"He could still go to college," Hoseok suggests. It's out of blue, but Minhyuk notices everybody nodding and humming in agreement. "The faster we try, the higher the chance for a transfer. Some courses have barely begun earlier this month." 

"Interesting knowledge for somebody who doesn't exist in daytime at all," Changkyun bluntly throws in. It should be offensive, but he makes it sound like he's just curious. 

"We were helping one of our sources move into a new apartment because of college," Hoseok answers, rather defensively. "It's good to know stuff." 

"Mhm," Changkyun agrees easily. "It is. And your knowledge is our knowledge." 

"So," Jooheon turns to Minhyuk, "would you like that?" 

It's definitely better than doing nothing. "Sure. It would make it less of a lie, to my parents. Especially since I should talk to them soon. It's been..." Minhyuk counts the days since he last spoke with his mother, "seven days already. A week. Fuck." 

"We'll get you a phone, too," Hyunwoo promises, standing up. He reaches for the device on the table. "Are you going out for a meal tomorrow night?" 

"No, only blood bags this week," Hoseok replies sourly. 

"I'm inviting you over, then." 

That makes Hyungwon sound more awake. "I hope your Netflix subscription isn’t expired.”

Kihyun lifts himself up with a sigh. "We should start charging them for electricity bills." He throws a glance at the sink. "Wash your dishes." And with a final pat on Minhyuk's head, he leaves. 

"C'mon," Hyunwoo urges, "you have school tomorrow. Homework done?" 

Jooheon looks like he's ready to complain but Changkyun shoots him a look. They shake their heads, and Hyunwoo sends them upstairs with a wave of his hand. It leaves Minhyuk alone with Hyunwoo. Without a word, Hyunwoo starts on the dishes. He doesn’t ask Minhyuk to help him. 

The silence is comfortable but Minhyuk starts talking anyway. He talks about school and then about his turning. In exchange, Hyunwoo shares little details about other pack members — how they all got together and what they have been up to since then. 

Neither of them comments on the fact that they settle together in Hyunwoo's bed for the night again. 

 

 

The noise from downstairs rouses Minhyuk up the next morning. 

Somebody is talking, the sink is running, and something's sizzling on the frying pan. Minhyuk is pressed against Hyunwoo, same as the night before. 

"Wake up, pup." 

It doesn't sound as condescending as when Kihyun calls him that. Minhyuk curls into himself only to stretch right after. Hyunwoo nudges him with his arm. 

"What?" Minhyuk asks, squinting his eyes at him. Surely, he's not sleeping anymore. 

Hyunwoo smiles, nudging him again. "Breakfast is almost ready." 

When all Minhyuk does is let out an affirmative grunt, not giving any signs of getting up, Hyunwoo rolls around and gets to his feet first. He grabs a set of fresh clothes, and with one last glance at Minhyuk says, "Don't make Kihyun wait. He’s very... serious, about food." 

Down the corridor, the shower is on, so Minhyuk figures his turn might as well be the last. In his pajamas — Hyunwoo's clothes, still — he climbs the stairs down, smiling when he hears the plates clink against each other. 

"Where's Hyunwoo?" 

Minhyuk's sure they all can hear the shower running so he doesn't get where the question is coming from but nonetheless gives Changkyun the answer he needs. "Bathroom. He should get here in a few." 

There's nothing fancy for breakfast but It's so much better than what Minhyuk has been having for the past months. It feels more like home here, even if all that’s offered were cereal. But this time there are eggs and bread, coffee and tea. He swallows his food down his throat, that feels tight with emotions. 

"After we drive those two to school," as Kihyun speaks Changkyun makes a face at him but Kihyun promptly ignores him, "we shall start going about your things. Hyunwoo?" 

Hyunwoo’s barely gotten to the table, so he’s surprised when he’s addressed instantly. "We're going, right?" He asks, oblivious. Kihyun, instead of repeating himself, just gives him a yes. Hyunwoo communicates with smiles and nods, Minhyuk's beginning to learn, and that's exactly what Kihyun gets back. 

Before anyone has a chance to tell Minhyuk he should hurry — he hasn’t showered still — he swallows the last piece of his bread and goes upstairs to get ready. There's a honk from outside as he's trying on another pair of pants because none of Hyunwoo's really fit. With a scrunch on his face, he looks for a belt instead. Good thing oversized clothes seem to be a trend nowadays.

The car ride gives Minhyuk an opportunity to take a look at the town. It's definitely smaller than the one he's been raised in. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though. It means he’ll need less time to get acquainted with it, if he stays. 

But they're getting him a mattress for his new bed he helped to build with his own hands, so of course he’s staying. The intention is pretty clear. Minhyuk just needs to start believing it. 

Unexpectedly, they stop in front of the university first.

"Let's find out if they would agree to transfer you here before we try getting your papers," Kihyun says. He leads Minhyuk to the dean's office; Hyunwoo follows without a word. "If they ask for a reason, tell them you had to take care of family matters. They shouldn't pry into it. You got into a pretty good college, I believe it's good enough for them to take you. Go." 

Minhyuk's not sure about any of this but decides to go with the flow. With every passing day, his chances decrease. He just needs to chat the dean up. 

It's one of the weirdest conversations he’s ever had, and he must have a very confused expression when he walks out of the office, because Kihyun is staring at him all worried. Hyunwoo almost walks into his personal space like he’s thinking something bad happened and he'd need to pick up Minhyuk's pieces any second. 

Minhyuk grabs his own sides, heaving an uneven breath. "He’s a weird guy, I must say," he mutters. Kihyun rolls his eyes but nods. "He agreed, though. Even let me pick most of my classes. And he’s going to request the transfer of my papers himself?" Minhyuk feels it more impossible as he says it out loud. "That's good, right?" 

Kihyun snorts. "Of course it's good. If it's settled then we should go. I can't be late for work." 

From how easily Kihyun moves around campus, Minhyuk would assume he’s attending, too. But, then — "Work?" he asks with a frown. "You aren't a student here?" 

"Ah," Kihyun clears his throat, "I'm... Just doing online courses for now. Until the others graduate." 

For a moment Minhyuk feels stupid. He's not the only one that had to give up on things. Sometimes, you get forced by other people, but sometimes you are the one that needs to force yourself to do things you are not keen on doing. 

"I should get a part-time job, at least," Minhyuk says sheepishly. "And get my hands back on my allowance. Those bastards—" 

"One step at a time," Kihyun placates. "Let's go get you that mattress first. Or do you want to keep sleeping in Hyunwoo's bed?" 

Minhyuk isn't sure who Kihyun intends to tease more, him or Hyunwoo? He doesn't raise to the bait, and neither does Hyunwoo. Minhyuk shrugs like it doesn't really matter, and Hyunwoo polemically keeps whatever retort he might have to himself. Kihyun's mouth remains pressed funnily through the whole way to the shop, like he knew something anyway. 

One day, Minhyuk's going to break the guy. 

 

 

"Won't it grab their attention when you block the money?" 

Right after sundown, Hoseok and Hyungwon appear on their porch: one carrying blood bags, and the other a few bags of chips and other snacks. Very considerate of them, Minhyuk thinks as he thanks them for the goods. Before they start prying into them, today’s events are brought up. 

It's weird to be the topic of almost every conversation. Despite the constant state of anxiousness that this new pack might kick him off, Minhyuk feels somehow flattered. 

"If they're as crazy as Minhyuk describes them, they'll show up sooner or later," Kihyun shrugs, opening the first bag. He pops a few chips into his mouth. "And the less money they steal from Minhyuk, the better. He's transferring here, he needs it." 

"We'll deal with them if they come," Hyunwoo says easily. He's already on the couch in front of the TV like he can't wait for the movie to start. 

Hyungwon deems it the end of the conversation, taking up the place on the other end of the couch. Hoseok settles by his side, putting his legs in his lap. Obvious from how quickly and calmly the whole ordeal goes, it can’t be the first time they're doing this. 

Instead of taking the last place on the couch, Minhyuk settles on the floor. Jooheon throws him a pillow, and Hoseok puts a bag of jellies in his hand. 

"What are we watching?" he asks, chewing on a colorful worm. 

"Bad vampire movie," Hyungwon supplies. 

Minhyuk laughs. "Let me guess, next time it will be a bad werewolf one?" 

"Jackpot." 

Minhyuk doesn't even know when he drifts off against Hyunwoo's knee, and he's barely conscious when he's led to bed. His own but unfamiliar one. The smell of the pillow is his own, and he hugs it to himself, looking for some comfort with it.

Despite his uncomfortable position back in the living room, it was a lot nicer to be among the others than on his own, alone in a room that might be his but doesn’t feel like it. The walls are bare, and all of Minhyuk’s personal belongings are back at home, or forever lost with the other pack. Actually, not getting them back, if it meant forever, wouldn’t be so bad. Making this bed, this room completely his wouldn’t be bad as well.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't believe beautiful promo is no more... but with all the concerts, i hope for some fancams to keep me alive hehe


	3. Chapter 3

 

Minhyuk wakes with a frown on his face. He’s tossed around enough during the night for the covers to almost fully slip off the bed and onto the floor. When he uncurls his fingers from around it — the last handful that he’s managed to keep with himself — it indeed falls down.

There's no breakfast on the table since Kihyun is working the morning shift. Everybody help themselves to what's in the kitchen: bread, sausages, or cereal. 

"Don't you have classes today?" Jooheon asks. He and Changkyun are fixing themselves a second breakfast, fighting over slices of ham and cheese. "You should check your schedule." 

With so many things happening all at once, Minhyuk somehow hasn't thought that transferring here meant classes right away. The sooner the better, he reminds himself, slapping a hand over his face with a groan.

"There's a laptop in my room," Hyunwoo offers, rounding Minhyuk who's standing on his way. He puts a hand on Minhyuk's shoulder, propping himself up to reach another box of cereal that's stored on the top shelf; they have just finished the previous one. His hand stays there even after he puts the box on the counter. "I could give you a lift if you have any morning classes."

Minhyuk hums in assent, turning around to get to it as soon as possible. Hyunwoo pats him on the back as he goes, and it brings back Minhyuk’s frown from before. It's hard to get a knack of Hyunwoo's behavior — is he trying to be friendly? Patronizing? Or something else? 

But it's not the time to think about it now. Minhyuk isn't even sure what classes he wants to take, but he checks the basics. It looks like he may have one class at noon, and then another one after an hour-long break. Nonetheless, he chooses to go with Hyunwoo who's taking the two youngest to school. Minhyuk’s reluctant to stay at the house alone. The chances his previous pack hunts him here are rather small, but there's always a what if. Minhyuk might be prone to taking risks, but not like this. 

On their way, Hyunwoo stays silent as the three of them indulge in a conversation about school and such. The struggles of Jooheon and Changkyun aren't any different than Minhyuk had back in his town. Though, Changkyun seems to like high school a lot less than Minhyuk, or Jooheon. 

"It's hard to tune everyone out and listen to the teacher," he says, visibly distressed. "I'm not a born werewolf, so it's hard to get used to it. But you'll see for yourself. You've been turned right after graduating, right?" Minhyuk’s been nodding the whole time in agreement and doesn’t stop now. "So you don't know how it's like to hear every whisper, not only of your own class but even from next door. Good luck with that." 

Minhyuk slides down his seat, pouting. "That's not very encouraging." 

There’s a hand then, one Minhyuk recognizes as Jooheon's. He pats Minhyuk's shoulder, comforting. "You can do this. College ought to be different, right? Don't half of the students sleep during lectures or something? 

Then, Changkyun as well clasps a hand over Minhyuk’s arm lightly. "Yeah, you can always try sleeping as well." 

It's really not that funny, but Minhyuk catches Hyunwoo smiling, eyes never leaving the road ahead of him. Minhyuk lets them have it, just this time. 

 

 

It turns out not to be as bad as Changkyun has painted it to be, but it's hard nonetheless. Some people are whispering, and it happens to be about him. Well, he is a new face in town so there's nothing he can do about it. At least it's nothing bad so far. 

He even gets approached by some of his classmates. 

“You’re the new guy, right?” One with a very bright smile, which is weird for how boring the lecture was, asks. “Minhyuk?” 

“Yes,” he nods timidly. “That’s me.” 

“Are you going for lunch now maybe? Psych later?” 

It’s not that hard to tag along and to make small talk over greasy fries. It’s not that hard to say he’d kill for some meat that isn’t the cafeteria burger of unknown origin and pretend he doesn’t kind of mean it. He smiles, thinking it’s going to make a good joke over dinner later. 

“Any plans for the evening? We could—“ 

“Ah, actually,” Minhyuk interrupts before it gets to the point where he can’t refuse, “I do have plans. Sorry.” There's an itch beneath Minhyuk's skin, an itch for him to go home, to the pack. Being away from everyone for a longer period of time for the first time since he moved into their house, the den — it puts a strain on him. His wolf has gotten restless. 

“Don’t sweat it!” He gets in return, and it doesn’t look like they find it dismissive. Minhyuk still gets to seat with them during their Psych class, and it’s not that bad, even if he barely catches anything of what their professor is saying. Just as Changkyun said, scraps of conversations are too easily picked up by werewolf ears. 

But, Minhyuk thinks as he waves his new classmates goodbye, college is not that bad. 

 

 

On the weekend, Minhyuk learns there's no time for leisure. Granted, every Saturday they train in the backyard. It makes Minhyuk distressed. The way he’s been trained during the summer — it brings back bad memories. 

"It's friendly sparring," Hyunwoo convinces him as they gather at the back of the house right after breakfast, "and it makes the wolf happy. Come on!" 

Jooheon looks positively thrilled at the idea. He rubs his hands, already in an offensive crouch. "Let's get it!" 

But all he gets is being thrown to the ground by Kihyun, attacking from the side unexpectedly. Hyunwoo claps his hands in approval. 

"Always be ready," Kihyun says solemnly, and somehow Minhyuk finds himself moving on instinct, using Kihyun's tactic against him and tackling him to the ground. "Ow. You're not bad, pup." 

Minhyuk huffs, half annoyed by the pet name but also half pleased he managed to surprise Kihyun some. Wallowing in victory, he doesn’t pay enough attention and so Kihyun rolls them over, pinning Minhyuk down. Kihyun is fast but Minhyuk is sneaky so they end up in a well balanced match of tug and toss. 

It’s the middle of November and the weather is chilly enough for the ground to be nearly frozen. Soon, Minhyuk feels like tugging Kihyun closer rather than pushing him away, his body losing too much warmth to continue. 

Kihyun grins down at him when his hands stay fisted in his hoodie but he doesn’t work them to move Kihyun anyhow. “Good job.” 

When Minhyuk opens his mouth to reply, what comes out of it is an airy laugh rather than an angry snarl. The puff of his breath creates a thin white fog, and as Kihyun laughs back at him, it mingles with Kihyun’s right between them. They let the youngest battle next, taking a seat on the porch steps, arm by arm. Minhyuk’s mouth curls into a triumphant smile when Kihyun lets him get closer and press himself tight under his arm. 

It's obvious Jooheon and Changkyun aren't fighting for real, from the too light punches, through staged bites all to huffs of laughter when they pull at each other’s clothes. Hyunwoo doesn’t mind, though. He smiles, with that omnipresent pleased stretch of his mouth that makes his eyes into two thin lines. He still tells them how to get better, where the punch should go were it aimed with the intent to actually hurt the other person. 

When Minhyuk steps into the house to bring out some drinks, it’s in reality an excuse to try to outwit Hyunwoo on his way back. Minhyuk’s idea is nothing new — surprise attack. It could have worked, Minhyuk thinks after jumping onto Hyunwoo’s back; it could have if Hyunwoo wasn’t somewhat ready for it. Alpha’s senses are no joke. 

“It could have worked,” Hyunwoo echoes Minhyuk’s thoughts, “if you’d hit my shoulder, here.” He taps on the junction of his shoulder and neck. “Or on the side. If hands aren’t blocking the way.” Minhyuk is busy keeping himself in place on Hyunwoo’s back, wrapped around him like a monkey. With access all too easy, Hyunwoo bends his elbow back, far enough to be able to poke Minhyuk in the side. “Or you end up like this,” he finishes.

With a squawk of protest, Minhyuk falls back and off to the ground. “Good lesson,” Minhyuk drawls through his teeth; his butt hurts. Hyunwoo helps him up, and it’s hard to tell if he’s truly sorry — not with his default smile on. “I’m going to freeze soon, are we moving back inside?” 

Only Hyunwoo hasn’t really sparred with anyone yet, but Minhyuk bets he’d be able to put them all down, probably even with their combined forces. Or that’s exactly something they should put to the test? Maybe some other time, though. Minhyuk, even without his improved hearing can tell the scrunching under the soles of his shoes comes not from crisp leaves or dry twigs but from the frost on the ground that covers everything in the thinnest layer of ice. 

The house might be cold because the fireplace hasn’t been lit up since the previous morning, but the contrast in temperature — still a good ten or more degrees — is enough to make a difference. Surprisingly, Kihyun calls Minhyuk to be his help for preparing lunch. 

“Every one of you should know how to make a couple of edible meals.” Kihyun explains to the clueless Minhyuk who stands in the middle of the kitchen, unsure, while Kihyun busies himself with putting everything he needs out. “I’m not going to cook for you forever.” 

The tone Kihyun uses doesn’t sound all that convincing, but they surely cannot know what the future will bring. Minhyuk is one to understands that very well. 

“Are we having meat today?” Minhyuk changes the topic, stepping to Kihyun’s side to help him wash the vegetables. 

“Yes, but—“ Kihyun hesitates, eyeing Minhyuk carefully. “We’re having steaks.” 

Minhyuk brightens, ignoring what Kihyun must be implying. “Great!” 

He’s eaten raw meat before, even at the vampires’ place not that long ago, but it’s not something he fully enjoys. It’s ever been a mean of necessity, or just something he was fed by the alpha that bit him. Some enjoyed it, Minhyuk did not, but when you have no other choice you bear with it. 

A wave of relief that all of it is behind him washes over Minhyuk, and he shudders with the force of it. Kihyun looks at him again, confused, but Minhyuk offers him another smile. 

“Make it rare for me, please.”

Well, there’s still an animal hidden underneath his skin.

 

 

There’s a lot of routine around the house Minhyuk catches on fast. He learns everybody’s schedules, for work or school, memorizes the order of who helps Kihyun in the kitchen, and when. But some changes happen, too. Soon, Minhyuk replaces Hyunwoo on the grocery shopping trips, which Minhyuk profoundly enjoys. Especially when Kihyun lets him smuggle his favorite snacks in. 

“Kihyun only ever needed me to carry the bags,” Hyunwoo jokes over dinner one evening. He still carries them, from their car to the house. “I was often picking the wrong brands, too, and you know how Kihyun’s patience runs short.” 

“He scolds me, too.” Minhyuk pouts, and Hyunwoo bumps their shoulders together. “We argue about milk all the time. It’s fun.” 

This time Hyunwoo glances at him like Minhyuk isn’t in his right mind to consider bickering with Kihyun as fun. It’s also when he doesn’t pay attention to his food so Minhyuk’s able to steal some of the meat off his plate. Hyunwoo, if he notices, doesn’t say a word. He gets back at him, though, when Kihyun’s phone goes off, Hyungwon’s name on the screen — stealing a piece for himself. It’s considerably smaller, though. 

“You’re lucky. I don’t have work tomorrow,” Kihyun says, swaying on his chair. Jooheon, frowning, pulls him down, the chair legs coming onto the floor with a hard knock. “See you later, sleeping princess.” He hangs up just as through the speaker comes a curse loud enough for them to hear. Slamming his palm onto the table, Kihyun looks over everyone with a wicked smile. “Anybody in for a run?”

And that’s how they end up at the vampire lair, trying to outrun each other as they speed through the forest. Clothes are conveniently laid out on the porch for them, a pile of neatly folded sweatpants and t-shirts. Minhyuk is pleased, if not surprised, there’s one set for him, too.

Kihyun’s not even past the front door and he’s already picking on Hyungwon.

“Losing sleep? You look pale.”

Hyungwon scoffs, “I’m meeting my source tomorrow.” He really does look tired, if vampires ever do.

Their house is smaller, but the living room still manages to be more spacious. Minhyuk didn’t have time to look around when he first ended up here, and he was definitely not in the mood for it. He was too agitated, scared to have been picked up by vampires and what was going to come out of it to really notice anything. Now, he feels comfortable enough to inspect every corner, even in the presence of two vampires.

“Sucks to be hungry,” Kihyun says, dead serious, but he breaks into a smile when Changkyun and Jooheon start cackling at the joke.

Hoseok bumps into Hyungwon who’s not even trying to hide the disdain from his face.

“I was at my source’s the other night,” Hoseok says, and Hyungwon’s scowl turns into a pout. He takes a seat by his side but leans away. Hoseok, even though paler than Hyungwon by nature, definitely seems healthier. For a vampire, of course. “And I think we should be careful. They have a connection to some pack from up north, and it came across an unfamiliar smell. Of another wolf.”

Silence falls over them, and Minhyuk’s joints shake from how much he tenses at the words. There’s a frown on Kihyun’s face that turns into a snarl when his upper lip curls up. Jooheon’s breath is coming out noisy, eyes trained on Hyunwoo whose face doesn’t give away anything. Yet.

“Fuck,” Minhyuk chokes up, other, much worse curses not making it past his lips. If it’s them, if it’s the pack he’s run away from, they’re in serious trouble. Troubles Minhyuk has brought upon them all. He should’ve known better. “I’m sorry.”

He can feel hands on him, tentative pats, fingers in his hair, and the touch calms him down as much as it’s able to.

“It’s not on you,” Hyungwon says, and he’s turning the TV on, setting the movie for them to watch. ”It’s on them.”

They all agree, and Minhyuk doesn’t even try to protest, because it is. It truly is. He didn’t ask to be turned and to be forever tied by some weird boundaries, by pack dynamics that didn’t make sense. Especially now, after getting a taste of how it could be, Minhyuk stance stays strongly on the other pack being in the wrong. They could’ve made the experience bearable — not miserable. It could’ve been like a second family and not like a military camp that lacked affection or any type of support other than in survival and combat.

Minhyuk won’t let them drag him back into it.

After taking a couple of calming breaths, he leans into the sofa, nestling between Hyunwoo and Kihyun, and he manages to forget about the past for a moment as they make quips about the movie. He’s easily immersed in the plot, all of his focus on the screen, but the body heat of two werewolves against him manages to lull him to sleep anyway. It feels like his little nap is over in the blink of an eye for he’s being shaken awake in no time.

“Minhyuk,” Kihyun nudges him.

The movie is over. Most of them are already up, but Minhyuk can tell through his squinted eyes Jooheon is barely awake as Changkyun drags him out, feet shuffling.

Minhyuk, where he remembers his vertical position from before, is almost laying down now, face pillowed on Hyunwoo’s broad chest. Kihyun pokes him in the side, and he almost smashes his nose on Hyunwoo’s thigh. “Mean,” he mumbles, trying to roll over, roll off their alpha — just stand on his own, somehow. His thoughts are a bit jumbled, sleep-laced.

There’s a snicker above him, and Kihyun moves away when Minhyuk makes an uncoordinated swing at him. “Don’t make Hyunwoo carry you, it’s too far for that.”

“And you know what the punishment for the last one to arrive is!” Jooheon calls from the hall, sounding more awake than he looked moments ago. Easy to say when he’s the fastest one from the whole pack.

A hand in his hair doesn’t help him to move up. “Minhyukie,” Hyunwoo prompts him, and can’t they just stay here to sleep the night away? “If Hyungwon wasn’t a vampire, I’d think you’ve caught something from him.”

Hyungwon peers at them from the place in the armchair he hasn’t left since they started. The set of his mouth looks more repellent than usual. “Loving sleep is not contagious.”

Yawning, Minhyuk doesn’t notice Hoseok appearing over Hyunwoo’s arm, giving him a fangy smile that makes Minhyuk give a start, almost landing on the floor if Hyunwoo wasn’t there to catch him. At last, Minhyuk moves to his feet. They really should be going, anyway.

Hoseok’s smile turns into a well-feigned pout. “I don’t want to be a bad host and kick you out—” Hyungwon snorts. “I don’t,” Hoseok insists, “but I have to keep Hyungwon awake a little bit longer.”

Hyungwon groans into his hands but nobody, literally nobody reacts to that. Minhyuk rolls his eyes so that only Hyunwoo sees it. Hyunwoo hides his smile by busying himself with leading Minhyuk to the door and ushering the others out. It’s better to leave the vampires to their own devices. Even though Minhyuk is tired, a run back to the house sounds good. He sleeps best after a carefree sprint through the forest, the slight burn in his limbs when he buries himself into bed making sleep even more welcome.

“Let’s go,” Kihyun says on an exhale, eyes on the stars up in the sky, and throws his clothes away. When he jumps off the porch, it’s a wolf that lands on its four feet.

He makes it easy to like him, Minhyuk thinks as he strips himself naked, too. They’ve grown close quickly, with Minhyuk sometimes disturbing Kihyun’s online classes, or making Kihyun help him with his. They share stories about their turnings and how hard it was to adjust, to survive the first full moon, and what adjusting their new highlighted senses to those of humans entitled.

“Have you told Hyunwoo?” Kihyun would ask when their study session went off-road. “What you’ve just told me.”

Minhyuk would play oblivious, because there’s no good answer to that, and after Kihyun gave him an incredulous look, he’d go as far as saying, “To an extent, yes.”

Sometimes, instead of making fun of Minhyuk and pushing his buttons, Kihyun would talk about Hyunwoo, some new bits of information that would fill empty spaces Minhyuk’s trying to figure out. Hyunwoo tells him just this much. Usually, it’s Minhyuk who’s doing all the talking.

Kihyun gives Minhyuk a knowing smile when they arrive, eyes pointing to Hyunwoo insistently. Talk to him, it’s what Kihyun wants to say with his gaze, because even after the run Minhyuk seems to be unsettled. Maybe more than he’s able to comprehend himself.

Hyunwoo’s next question comes like he’s been all too aware of everything. “Are you okay? You still seem—shaken. Your wolf definitely is.” He moves closer because Jooheon is still lingering by the stairs. “Tell me if you don’t want to stay alone.”

The message is quite clear: come sleep in my bed if you want. And Minhyuk isn’t one to reject a gift presented to him on a silver platter. “Thanks,” he says, smiling, even if it’s tight with anguish.

Hyunwoo lets him decide, still, letting go of Minhyuk’s arm after squeezing it briefly.

It’s like one nervousness is being replaced by another. Some of them shower and others don’t, but Minhyuk waits until he’s the only one left wanting to wash away the dust of the run. He takes his time, with the water still hot, trying to get rid of not only the dirt of the forest but the agitation, too. He’s slept in Hyunwoo’s bed so many times before but it somehow manages to put him on alert. Maybe a short break of not doing so is the cause?

Minhyuk frowns at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He picks at the hole near the collar of his night shirt, the material thin but soft after being washed so many times. It’s been Hyunwoo’s shirt but it’s Minhyuk who manages to rip it. He can’t even pinpoint the exact moment it happened. Is Hyunwoo going to be mad about it? Minhyuk can list all the occasions he’s seen their pack leader angry with the fingers of his hand.

Releasing a breath through his lips with a sound, Minhyuk leaves the bathroom. Staring for too long at the faint mark of teeth peeking from under the collar and through the teared-out hole would only remind Minhyuk of things he’s so tirelessly trying to forget.

The house is quiet and dark. If not for the werewolf senses, Minhyuk would probably break his teeth turning the first corner. But with his keen eyes and the ability to pick on smells well, he easily follows the familiar one of Hyunwoo. It’s distinctive, makes Minhyuk feel safe, and his legs move on their own accord.

The blankets are already warmed up when he slips under them. Hyunwoo isn’t sleeping. Minhyuk can tell but he doesn’t say anything. It looks like he’s nervous, too — of what, Minhyuk can’t tell, but Hyunwoo’s body relaxes the moment Minhyuk curls by his side, a pleased hum reverberating through him.

Minhyuk smiles, pressing himself closer. “Thanks,” he repeats the word again, feeling the gratitude to the bone. He feels it in the way his muscles slowly untangle, in the easing of his mind. His wolf settles.

“No need to,” Hyunwoo murmurs somewhere above him, his breath ruffling Minhyuk’s hair.

The steady beat of Hyunwoo’s heart just under Minhyuk’s hand is what lulls him to sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4 more chapters maybe? we'll see :D


	4. Chapter 4

  

There are no signs of any foreign werewolves, but problems occur anyway. It doesn’t take even one week after the movie night for Changkyun to come back from school in an almost feral state.

“I’m not going back there,” he seethes through his teeth. “It’s such bullshit.”

In the house, with Minhyuk there’s only Kihyun. Minhyuk puts the shirt he’s been trying to mend to the side — with how often their clothes are being torn, they would have to be millionaires to just throw them away and buy new ones. Kihyun has his hands dirty with earth as he’s been working in the garden but he walks in through the back when he hears the front door being slammed particularly hard.

“Don’t swear,” Kihyun chides Changkyun, eyes slitting when Changkyun growls back at him. “Please.” He uses an overly-sweet voice, and Changkyun surprisingly deflates, throwing himself onto the sofa.

Minhyuk has been sitting in the armchair since he got back from his morning classes, and his legs are stiff when he stands up. He moves like he’s on stilts when he walks over to Changkyun, hand going into his hair tentatively.

Changkyun doesn’t snap at him. Actually, he doesn’t even acknowledge Minhyuk’s presence, doesn’t give in into the touch.

“We don’t need to talk about what happened,” Minhyuk starts, words so quiet it’s almost like he’s whispering. “I just want you to know you can. Find a solution, together.” Changkyun doesn’t deny it, and for all Minhyuk’s concerned, it’s a good sign. He even presses his head against Minhyuk’s open palm. It makes Minhyuk smile. “Are you hungry?”

“I left right after lunch,” Changkyun confesses, curling into himself. He must feel guilty for skipping classes. “To be honest, I mostly feel like sleeping.”

“Sleep,” Kihyun chimes in, “I’ll wake you up later.”

And just like that, Changkyun rolls onto his side, face pressed into the cushion, and sleeps. Minhyuk’s worried eyes meet Kihyun’s over him.

They work in silence, moving from their previous tasks to take care of dinner. Jooheon goes straight to his room when he’s back, stopping only to take a long look at Changkyun’s sleeping form. He leans over the back of the sofa, the tips of his fingers ghosting over Changkyun’s shoulder. For werewolves, it’s all about touch sometimes. Within the pack, it can help ease one’s mind. Through touching, they can bond, and through bond they can heal. Physically and mentally.

Changkyun sniffs in his slumber, and that’s when Jooheon leaves, coming back only when Hyunwoo finally gets home.

There are a lot of times when Hyunwoo, before saying anything, just observes. He takes in the situation, assesses each one of them with such calmness Minhyuk envies him, at times. Sometimes, though, no matter how long Hyunwoo stares at them, understanding doesn’t come, and with an astounded expression searches for an answer with words.

“Hi,” he greets quietly. “Did something happen?”

Some of the emotions shared between them must have given off an impression to just make him straight up ask like that. Minhyuk looks over his shoulder from his place by the sink, and it comes as a pleasant surprise Hyunwoo is leaning closer to him than to Kihyun. He gives Minhyuk a tired smile which Minhyuk finds hard to reciprocate.

“Changkyun is upset,” Kihyun supplies. He doesn’t address Hyunwoo’s actions. “You should talk to him. I think the school thing isn’t working.”

The need to reach for Hyunwoo, splay his hands over his tensing up shoulders — it feels natural for Minhyuk. This time, as Minhyuk lets the instinct take the lead and he turns to Hyunwoo to squeeze his arms reassuringly, Kihyun gives them an intense stare.

Hyunwoo’s muscles relax, shoulders slumping in defeat. “I know. I suspected it might happen eventually.” He scratches at his brow, and Minhyuk makes a questioning face back at Kihyun in the meantime, only getting a dismissive scrunch of his nose as a reply. “We’ll figure it out.”

Turning around — the wrong way if he were to leave the kitchen — Hyunwoo bumps into Minhyuk, says nothing when Minhyuk’s fingers close over his waist for a moment. Is he trying to steady Hyunwoo or himself, Minhyuk isn’t sure, but Hyunwoo doesn’t seem to mind. He never minds, Minhyuk thinks. Hyunwoo smiles apologetically, and Minhyuk is conscious enough to quirk his mouth back up before Hyunwoo walks the right path out of the kitchen.

The padding of Hyunwoo’s feet, and his voice when he speaks, shaking Changkyun awake, are enough to make Minhyuk space out for a moment too long.

“You’re wasting water,” Kihyun points out.

Minhyuk starts apologizing, only to break into an annoyed sputtering when he sees Kihyun’s smug expression. “What? Why are you laughing, Ki—oh, c’mon!”

It only makes Kihyun laugh harder, and it would get physical if Hyunwoo didn’t reprimand them sternly from the living room. He must be still talking to Changkyun. They go back to their respective work, sending playful glares at each other.

Changkyun’s foul mood keeps everybody on their toes. The atmosphere at the table is tense, Minhyuk feels like they’re waiting for something, like the other shoe’s about to drop. But no matter how attuned to Changkyun they are, nobody says anything when he keeps pushing his food all around his plate, not really eating anything.

Minhyuk, prone to talking and trying to lift spirits up, takes the quiet bad. He’s also the only one to blatantly look at Changkyun where everyone else is minding their own plates and food.

“I really don’t want to be a bother,” Changkyun says at last, startling them all. “It’s just… harder than I thought.”

“You wanted to be turned, Changkyun,” Kihyun counters, both hands laid flat on the table. “You wanted this.”

“I don’t regret it. I won’t, ever.” Changkyun has that apologetic set of lips on, and Minhyuk wonders how it must feel to have a choice. “School’s always been shit.” Hyunwoo doesn’t even blink, too immersed in his — food or thoughts, Minhyuk isn’t sure, so he’s the one to tut at Changkyun. He waves his hand, dismissive. “The point is,” he stresses, “I don’t want to drop out or anything. I just—want to be able to have a little bit of peace. Space. Take a break, maybe.”

“Let’s do this.” Hyunwoo surprises everyone by coming out of his trance. “We can try finding a home teacher again.” He takes a swig of water, and with the glass in his hand points at Changkyun, “You just keep doing your homework in the meantime.”

Changkyun nods, and even though his smile is faint, it’s evident he’s happy. Jooheon has his hand around his neck in no time, and Kihyun’s back to cutting his food with satisfaction written all over his face.

Afterwards, Minhyuk can’t help but follow Hyunwoo.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” he promises as Hyunwoo collects his clothes from the laundry room. He puts one more sock on top of the pile in Hyunwoo’s hands, the one he’s almost forgotten. “I don’t know the neighborhood well yet, but I can try looking for a teacher online, too.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Hyunwoo replies but he doesn’t give Minhyuk time to feel dismissed — he finds Minhyuk’s eyes with his, and says on a smile, “Focus on your own studies. You’re already helping us plenty.”

Minhyuk shakes his head. He spots another thing Hyunwoo has missed, an undershirt he’s often wearing around the house, stretched and almost tearing. He adds it to the load Hyunwoo’s holding, and snickers when it wavers slightly, making Hyunwoo’s eyes go alarmly round.

“Not at all,” Minhyuk protests. He guides Hyunwoo by the arm out of the room. For somebody with werewolf senses, he looks like he’d walk into the first wall with the mountain of clean clothes obstructing his vision. “You let me stay, even though you didn’t have to.”

As he turns, the undershirt along with the sock and a couple of other things fall off Hyunwoo’s arms. He doesn’t pick them up right away, instead staring Minhyuk down with intent. Minhyuk is aware of Jooheon at the other end of the corridor, observing them, so he quickly bends down to collect the fallen clothes. Hyunwoo’s still staring, though.

“Here,” Minhyuk whispers, patting the rebuilt pile. “Be careful not to drop them again,” he teases. Jooheon’s disappeared by now, but something tells Minhyuk he’ll hear all about this later.

“Thanks.” Hyunwoo has that sheepish smile that crinkles his eyes on and is really hard not to match with one of your own. It smooths after a beat, and his next words make Minhyuk stop from stepping away. “Minhyuk? Really, though.Thank you.”

Somehow it makes Minhyuk’s breath catch in his throat, and he only nods in acknowledgment, fleeting to his room right after.

He was sure about Jooheon not letting it slip — he’s already on Minhyuk’s bed, along with Changkyun.

“What?” Minhyuk asks, cursing internally at how defensive his voice sounds. “Do you need anything?”

“Congratulations on becoming the mother hen,” Changkyun says cheekily. It seems he’s gotten over his previous meltdown.

For the lack of any suitable objects to throw at them, Minhyuk reaches for more serious measures — he jumps onto the bed, trying to tackle both Jooheon and Changkyun all at once. Changkyun slips away easily, pushing Minhyuk towards Jooheon not so accidentally. He’s on the floor, laughing at them as Minhyuk prodes Jooheon with his fingers, deriving pleasure from his huffy laments, when Kihyun hurries into the room.

“What are you—” He stops, taking the situation in. His expression changes instantly, and he covers his mouth with his hand. “Changkyun,” he addresses the least occupied one out of them. “You know we’ll never hear the end of Jooheon’s complaints later?”

Minhyuk’s attacks lessen, and he whirls his head around.

Changkyun lifts his hand up, shrugging. “It won’t be about me, though.”

With a snort and a shake of his head, Kihyun leaves.

From the corridor, Minhyuk picks up on Hyunwoo’s voice. “They’re not fighting, are they?”

Kihyun assures they’re far from getting into a quarrel, but Minhyuk rolls away from Jooheon anyway. Jooheon continues his whining, though.

“R—really,” he mutters, still panting from his previous attempts at disentangling Minhyuk from himself, “really, that was mean. I never said anything!”

Changkyun runs away just in time to slip past Hyunwoo, and his laugh thunders through the whole house. Hyunwoo shoots Minhyuk a confused look.

“Dad!” Jooheon regains his senses pretty fast for a person who just wouldn’t open their eyes a second ago. He’s sitting on the bed in the blink of an eye, finger pointing at Minhyuk in a way that makes it touch the back of Minhyuk’s head. “I don’t like our new stepmom!”

Minhyuk lifts his hand but with no intention to actually smack Jooheon for that. He flinches anyway, corners of his mouth turning downwards as his expression sombers.

“Wasn’t Kihyun the stepmom just the other week?” Hyunwoo looks like he’s truly confused by Jooheon’s words. Minhyuk snickers.

“Kihyun is the evil aunt. They’re collaborating against us.”

Another push and yell later, Minhyuk is off the bed, leaving Jooheon cursing on the covers. But when he tries pulling Hyunwoo along with himself, the alpha doesn’t budge. Minhyuk pouts.

“Jooheonie?” Hyunwoo calls frowning when Jooheon only rolls from one side to the other. “Was Minhyuk too harsh?”

Minhyuk pouts even more.

“I forgive him. I’ll get back at him on Saturday.”

Instantly, Hyunwoo heaves a sigh and relaxes in Minhyuk’s grip. This time when Minhyuk tugs at his hand he goes pliantly.

“You should watch your back on Saturday,” he says when they’re back downstairs. They join Changkyun in front of the TV, and Hyunwoo warns the youngest werewolf that any other day he wouldn’t get a free pass for watching shows before homework. Changkyun knows better not to protest — he’s gained what he wanted, in the end. Hyunwoo turns back to Minhyuk. “Jooheon can be really aggressive when he lets go. He’s a born one.”

Minhyuk thinks about his own lanky limbs, mourning the turning did nothing to improve his body muscle. He wraps his arms around his legs, propping his chin on top of his knees. In his defense, Minhyuk can only add, “But I’m more feisty.”

A laugh, easy and heartwarming makes Minhyuk smile. From the floor, Changkyun moans in the most whiny tone for them to stop disturbing the show he’s watching, and it’s where their conversation ends.

Faces on the screen blur, and voices from the speakers don’t register as Minhyuk’s thoughts drift away from the plot he tries to catch on but can’t. He thinks about how comfortable he’s became to be in this house, and how scary it would be to be sent away. None of them ever told him straight in the face he could stay, Hyunwoo didn’t ask if he wanted to be a part of his pack. And Minhyuk? He never asked. Doesn’t consider doing it, even now. He’s grown content, and he can say by the way they treat him that they have, too.

Minhyuk just wonders how long it can last.

 

 

Go figure, Minhyuk and Changkyun make a pretty good team. Kihyun’s been picking more shifts since the Christmas season is approaching, and so the two of them are left to deal with most of the housework. And grocery shopping, which falls on today. Hyunwoo is supposed to pick them up after stopping at Jooheon’s school to take him, too.

Kihyun made sure to explain the shopping list Minhyuk’s reading right now, mouthing the names as he strolls through the aisles.

“He said brands don’t matter for some of these, and he circled them, but—he didn’t for the pasta? He put the kind of it, but not the brand.” Minhyuk voices his concerns out as he pushes the cart forward ever so slowly, leaning over the handle, his feet dragging. He bites onto the inside of his cheek, and turns to Changkyun. “You’ve been with them a lot longer, don’t you have any idea which one we should take?”

But Changkyun is inspecting two boxes of rice, turning them this and that way. “Same problem. Well, almost the same, look. He wrote the brand but there are boxed ones, and—”

“Take both. Either won’t last for long, anyway.” Minhyuk checks the list again. “See? He wrote to buy two, anyway. I think we’ve missed one alley, the one with sauces and such?”

“Yeah,” Changkyun nods, his eyes doing most of the motion. “We should grab some ketchup, right? Let’s meet at the cheese section.”

Minhyuk beams. “Isn’t it right next to the chips one?”

All he gets in response is a wiggle of Changkyun’s brows, accompanied by a sly smile, and then Changkyun’s gone.

He strolls past canned, well, everything, and just when he’s about to take a turn, he bumps into an empty cart. A hand brushes his arm, as if to steady him. Minhyuk can’t stop a surprised little sound at all of this, but he’s fast to open his mouth wider to apologise.

“Sorry, I didn’t see—you—” Minhyuk stutters to a stop as his eyes go higher and higher, until they land on the face of a not-so-total stranger.

Minhyuk inhales on instinct and wonders how could he not smell this guy as soon as he got in the shop — not even outside? Now, the scent of the pack that claimed him months ago is suddenly suffocating. And he knows this guy, too — he’s the one responsible for training the newly turned werewolves. Sharp and unrelenting. Not very kind.

It’s difficult to swallow through the bile in his throat; Minhyuk tries to remember how to breathe.

“Well, ain’t that our lost pup. Fancy meeting you here.” When Minhyuk doesn’t answer, he simply goes on. “You made our alpha very unhappy.”

_He’s not my alpha_ , Minhyuk thinks in a rush, and he chokes on a breath, stopping himself from saying it out loud. “He needn’t worry. I wouldn’t be of any use to him, anyway.”

The other werewolf simply laughs. “You underestimate your abilities. You could have grown strong. Still can.” His gaze is taxing, making Minhyuk squirm under the scrutiny. “He wouldn’t even be mad if you just came back.”

This time, Minhyuk isn’t able to contain his emotions. It’s his turn to let out a laugh, but where the other werewolf’s was light, mocking even, Minhyuk’s is just bitter. “I’m sure he’d find a way to show me, how much he isn’t mad.”

“You’ve never appreciated his generosity,” the guy snarls, his cart grating against Minhyuk’s. Minhyuk tightens his hands on the handle. “Even the bite—you never appreciated how big of a gift it was.”

People go past them, pushing their own carts lazily. Somebody makes Minhyuk move away from the other werewolf, reaching for a discounted can of tomatoes. The moment they are gone, though, he’s back, clashing the front of their carts together. “This silly pack won’t give you shit,” he says viciously, pulling the cart away only to slam it against Minhyuk’s again — just to make a point.

_None taken_ , Minhyuk thinks as his agitation grows, too. Maybe that’s exactly his tactic — make Minhyuk snap so he can have an excuse to tackle him. Minhyuk feels the sweat sliding slowly down his temples, feels it cover the back of his neck, too.

He’s about to voice his courteous but distinct version of “fuck off”, when he catches the clear sound of a growl that comes from neither of them. Changkyun.

“Oh, another mongrel. Terrific. You might take him with you, when you crawl back to our alpha.”

Changkyun, for how collected he usually is, doesn’t weigh his words when he’s under pressure. “Go fuck that alpha of yours and leave us alone,” he spits, his voice a low rumble.

“Well,” the man says, really angry now but still trying to keep his composure, “That would be ending our conversation on a bad note, but it leaves me hoping the second one will go better.” He pulls his cart away, in the opposite direction of Minhyuk’s. “Believe it or not, the stray is going back home.”

It takes five entire minutes for Minhyuk to collect himself, and then another five to calm Changkyun down.

“God, I prefer Kihyun’s dog jokes,” Changkyun rasps, shaking his hands down. He makes a dissatisfied sound that makes a middle-aged woman turn her head to give them a look. Changkyun stops long enough for the woman to disappear before he starts stomping his feet in turn. “He gave me the heebie-jeebies, and now my wolf just—it won’t—settle.”

“Should we go back home first?” Minhyuk asks, concerned. The last thing they need right now is for Changkyun to wolf out in the middle of the convenience store. “Kihyun... he won’t be mad.”

Changkyun shakes his head. “No, I—let’s finish this quickly.”

In no time, they’re packing their groceries — half of their choices Kihyun’s going to cringe at for sure — and leaving the store with eyes scanning the parking area.

There’s no sign of anyone trying to snatch Minhyuk away. As if on cue, Hyunwoo’s car appears at the closest crossing, and when the lights turn green, it speeds to meet them.

Jooheon is turning in his seat the moment they shut the back doors closed, and it’s peculiar how his expression changes — corners of his lips falling, eyes growing wider.

Silence makes Hyunwoo start the conversation first, probably missing the usual chatter. “What’s up?” His eyes stay glued to the road.

“One of them approached us,” Minhyuk explains, and even to his own ears, his voice sounds meek. Saying it out loud — it makes Minhyuk’s resolve crumble. One second he’s meeting Hyunwoo’s eyes in the rearview mirror, and the next he loses the sight of him as tears pool in his eyes. He looks away, but it’s too late.

Jooheon seems scared. “So this smell, it’s—oh, fuck.”

“They want Minhyuk back,” Changkyun adds quietly.

The words do nothing to help Minhyuk stop the tears from flowing. He’s visibly shaking, and Changkyun circles Minhyuk’s wrist with his fingers — Minhyuk’s sure it’s supposed to come off as soothing, so he tries making his body understand it as such. Under Changkyun’s thumb, Minhyuk can feel his own pulse beating rapidly.

“I think I’m getting sick,” Jooheon says. His voice sounds too clear for that, but when Minhyuk rubs at his eyes, he’s sees sweat breaking over Jooheon’s temples. It doesn’t mean anything good.

“Do you want me to stop the car?” Hyunwoo’s asking just as he takes an unplanned turn, so they get closer to the forest.

The moment they stop, Jooheon rolls out of the car, groaning loudly.

Minhyuk, despite being scared and still shaken, goes after him. Just before he’s able to step closer, Hyunwoo stops him. Right, Jooheon didn’t like the smell of him—of the other wolf on him. Or is it an alpha thing, Minhyuk wonders as he observes Hyunwoo approaching Jooheon, kneeling in front of him on the grass.

“Jooheon,” he says slowly. He doesn’t try touching him yet. “Are you going to turn?”

More groaning, and then Jooheon pants out, “No, I—I don’t think so. We’re just very upset.”

We. Both Jooheon, and his wolf. It’s like two sides of one coin. Sometimes, they end up in conflict, but sometimes it’s a force to reckon with — like that coin is being all but shot.

Hyunwoo scoots closer, slouching over Jooheon’s curled form. Jooheon makes a series of sounds, but doesn’t push Hyunwoo away. They stay like that for a while, until Jooheon’s breath goes back to normal. He slumps forward then, pressing his forehead against Hyunwoo’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” he says when Hyunwoo hauls him to his feet. His face hasn’t lost the flush yet, and his bangs stick to his forehead, damp with sweat. He squints his eyes at Minhyuk. “You have to wash your clothes as soon as possible, wash yourself as soon as possible. We should febreze the car, too.”

By Minhyuk’s side, Changkyun snorts, and it makes a smile split across Minhyuk’s face.

Before they go back to their car, Hyunwoo stops Minhyuk but only to slide his hands over Minhyuk’s front, and when Minhyuk gives him a stern look, he moves them over Minhyuk’s shoulders as well. It’s the opposite of what Minhyuk meant by giving Hyunwoo the look. Just then, he remembers about the smell and decides to keep his mouth shut.

The remaining ride home is quiet. Kihyun is already at the house when they arrive. He figures out something’s happened the moment he takes the sight of them in. Jooheon still looks like he’s seen a ghost. Changkyun keeps on picking on the sleeves of his sweater. The slight hitch between Hyunwoo’s brows is as good as a sign, too.

“Oh, just spill it,” he snaps when they transfer to the kitchen without a word. “What happened?”

“Exactly what we’ve been worried about,” Jooheon grunts, sinking into a chair. “Unwelcome guests,” he adds through gritted teeth.

Minhyuk’s eyes remain downcast. There’s a claw mark on the table Kihyun states Hyunwoo has made, but he was ominous about the circumstances of it. By Kihyun’s unrestrained grin back when he revealed this secret to Minhyuk, Minhyuk’s sure it must have been equally funny and embarrassing scene. But the mark itself, the mere thought of claws and how the usage of them seems inevitable now — it makes Minhyuk feel miserable.

He’s the one who’s brought it upon the pack. His eyes prickle once again.

Kihyun’s jaw is set tight after hearing Jooheon’s words. “I bet,” he starts, his hand going for his jeans pocket, “they don’t know they entered not only another pack’s territory, but a vampire’s one, too.” He digs out his phone, and dials a number despite Hyunwoo’s mild protest. It’s pretty obvious who he’s calling.

An annoyed roll of Kihyun’s eyes must mean his call goes straight to voicemail. He shouldn’t be so surprised — the sun is not down yet. Nevertheless, he leaves them a message. “This is an emergency call. You better drag your bony ass here even with your eyes still closed.” He hangs up, tossing the phone onto the table. “Now, we wait.” Nobody says anything. Jooheon lifts himself up and stumbles to the fridge, but Kihyun tsks at him. “Dinner first, Jooheonie.” And when Jooheon whines, “Go wash your hands! All of you!”

It’s something that tears them away from their lethargy, at last. Jooheon goes straight to the sink, Changkyun drags himself to the downstairs toilet, and Minhyuk chooses to go to the first floor one instead of waiting for his turn. Jooheon did tell him to wash himself, anyway.

What Minhyuk doesn’t expect is Hyunwoo following him.

“I’m fine,” Minhyuk says when Hyunwoo looks at him from the hall. The door to the bathroom is left open, and Hyunwoo seems to be contemplating if it’s okay to go inside. “Still a little shaken, but fine. Hurry up?” Minhyuk prompts him when he remains in the same spot. “I’m taking up on Jooheonie’s advice.”

Minhyuk makes some room for Hyunwoo but their elbows still bump against each other. It’s hard not to smile, and Hyunwoo, too, ducks his head to hide one of his own.

“Scenting works better, you know,” he says, turning the tap off. “But showering isn’t a bad idea, either.”

_I probably smell like you all the time_ , Minhyuk almost says out loud. They share clothes — all of them, more or less — but most importantly, Minhyuk keeps sleeping by Hyunwoo’s side more often than not. Minhyuk must reek of the alpha.

Which brings a very different kind of concern on the table.

“They probably know your scent now,” Minhyuk stresses, “the pack’s smell. He even touched me, that’s probably why—how could I have not thought about it?”

Fear makes Minhyuk’s heart kick up a notch, and he almost jumps out of his skin when Hyunwoo touches him again. “Hey, hey—calm down,” he says, and it makes Minhyuk take a deep breath in. “Yeah, easy there.”

Minhyuk feels like a fool. “Why am I like this,” he mutters to himself. “Sorry, it’s just—it’s so sudden. I really let myself believe it’s over. And I brought them upon your necks.” He closes his eyes, mirroring the grip Hyunwoo has on his arm and clutching his shoulders. “Uh, this is the worst.”

For a moment, Minhyuk’s sure Hyunwoo will let go of him, pat him on the back and walk away, but instead he brings him closer. He does pat Minhyuk, it’s just that he’s also hugging him while at it.

“We can get through it,” Hyunwoo says, his breath ruffling Minhyuk’s hair. “Don’t worry too much.”

If only it were this easy. But it’s not the time to make complaints, so he says, “I’ll try. Sunset is soon, isn’t it?” He lets go of Hyunwoo’s arms. “I better hurry. Scoot!”

Hyunwoo laughs, and it does help Minhyuk relax further. Even more when he jokes, “I’m still an alpha, you know?”

“A big bad wolf, I get it,” Minhyuk says all solemn, and Hyunwoo, to prove his point, barks at him.

It’s embarrassing enough for Minhyuk to close the door in his face.

 

 

“My ass might be bony, but it’s still higher up in the air than yours.”

Minhyuk has been amazed by every one of Hyungwon’s extravagant entrances ever since he met him. Too bad Kihyun doesn’t share the sentiment, or at least not if the insult is thrown right at him.

“Your ass, your nose, your ego,” Kihyun recites, and Hyungwon just shrugs — no denial of any of this.

Hoseok looks genuinely worried.

“What happened, guys? Because Kihyun gets angry often, but not like this.”

Kihyun lets out a noisy sigh, muttering “in my own house” under his breath, but he’s also the first one to bring the vampires some blood bags.

It’s all Minhyuk’s responsibility, so he takes it upon himself to explain what happened earlier today. Hoseok’s expression grows more troubled with every word, and Hyungwon’s scowl deepens.

“They don’t like leaving loose ends, do they,” Hyungwon says when Minhyuk is done. “I suppose they will find you here.”

“Most likely,” Hyunwoo agrees. He’s still so — maybe not calm, but stoic about all of it.

Jooheon from his spot on the sofa claws at the cushion. Good thing it’s with his blunt human nails, or the cushion would be ruined. “If they come at daylight, we’re royally screwed.”

“We can’t stay here,” Hyungwon says, and this time he sounds less perturbed and more fond. “If that’s what you’re suggesting. It just won’t work.”

“First of all,” Hoseok butts in, “shouldn’t we find out how many of them came?”

“Yeah,” Hyungwon agrees, “go sniff around town.”

At that, Jooheon throws the same pillow he’s been mauling. It misses Hyungwon’s head terribly.

“As much as I appreciate your poor attempts at humour,” Kihyun says, “we won’t risk running into who knows how many of them.”

“Understable.” Hyungwon easily gives up, holds his hands up in surrender even. “The pack’s a bigger one, am I right?”

Minhyuk releases his bottom lip from between his teeth. “Yeah. Even if their alpha sent only half of them—that’s more even if we count both of you in.” His throat squeezes itself tightly, and it’s hard to swallow the words stuck inside. “Maybe I should just go.”

“Sacrificing yourself is an overused plot device, you know,” Changkyun speaks at last after sitting quietly this whole time. “And if they see us as weak, they might, I don’t know, try to make us submit or some—hey!”

Turns out Jooheon has kicked him. “Don’t even say that! Oh my god…”

Hyunwoo splays his hands over the tabletop. He’s been motionless so far, and the simplest movement makes everybody tune in.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he says slowly. It’s easy to notice he’s trying to weigh his words right. “Doing nothing doesn't look the smartest, but—sniffing around might bring more trouble than actually profit us in any way.”

“They made the first move,” Kihyun carries on. “It means they want us to do the next one.”

“A bad one,” Changkyun sums up.

It all comes back to what Hyunwoo has said.

“Let’s wait then,” Hoseok agrees. Next to him, Hyungwon gives a small nod. “There’s a big chance they don’t have a clue about us,” he points between Hyungwon and himself, “and it works in our favor. We shall look around.”

Hyunwoo folds his hands into fists and gives the table a bump. “Alright.”

“No movie night this time around, huh?” Minhyuk tries lifting the atmosphere up. For all it’s worth, Hyungwon smiles at that. It’s not even that bothering when his fangs peek out a little bloody. He’s already halfway through his blood bag.

“Nobody splits up,” Kihyun warns. “They might try something, be it taking one of us for blackmail purposes.”

Jooheon shifts on the sofa. His feet meet the floor with a soft thump. His voice is gruff when he says, “We did our homework with all the bad scenarios. I wonder if they did theirs.”

There’s a pregnant silence, and then it’s hard to tell who bursts out laughing first, but soon there are seven not entirely human, laughing people in the room. They’ve had to somehow let their strung nerves unwind.

Hoseok drinks his bag almost in one go, and gives a surprised blink when Minhyuk takes the empty packaging off his hands. Minhyuk’s smile turns into an exasperated sigh when he hears Jooheon pretending to vomit right behind them. He hurries Hyungwon to finish, and when he’s back from the kitchen where he dumps the empty bags into the trashcan, both vampires are already gone.

All there is to do now is wait.

  


 


	5. Chapter 5

 

They do split into teams. Kihyun takes a few days off, or tries matching his shifts with the others. If necessary, Minhyuk stays at the campus, mostly studying in the library or tagging along with his classmates. They’re surprised he doesn’t hurry home like he’s used to, but accept it happily. Funny how a life-threatening situation might help improve your social life. And it’s not like there’s much to do outside when the weather continues to give them soaked shoes every other day.

Changkyun has to tag along with Hyunwoo for the first couple of days before they find a home teacher.

“This is a bad idea,” Jooheon voices everyone’s worry. “How sure are we she doesn’t belong to that pack?”

“No way Changkyun is staying alone with a stranger at the house,” Minhyuk says fiercely.

There’s a crease between Changkyun’s brows, and he puts his thumb there — to massage it away. “I’m not a child.”

“I wouldn’t stay with her either, if it helps you sleep at night,” Minhyuk counters back. “This is really—a very bad timing.”

They’re having late dinner, with everyone back for the day. It’s been dark outside for a while now, and Kihyun got a call from Hyungwon earlier. No substantial news. He suspects they have split, all around town probably, and made sure not to be noticed by the locals. Even if Hoseok coaxes valid information out of motel girls and boys with a charm, it happens the potential suspect has already left their room. The probability of some of them hiding deep in the forest is high as well. It’s like playing hide and seek — level hard.

Changkyun shrugs. “I’m passing my tests, so it’s not like I need her.”

“Smartass,” Kihyun snorts, “with very little of smart. Didn’t you get a C on your last history essay?”

The tips of Changkyun’s ears redden. “Oh, shut up,” he mumbles, shifting his eyes everywhere but Kihyun.

As they go back to their food, Minhyuk pushes the fork around his plate, pondering on what their next move should be. As of now, it all feels like a game of who outlasts who; whose resolve crumbles first.

“Should we try playing bite?”

It’s like somebody has dropped something, and it shatters between them — one moment there’s silence, and the next everybody starts talking over one another.

“No,” Hyunwoo says, shaking his head, and then louder when they don’t stop to listen. “We’re not doing this!”

Hyunwoo doesn’t especially raise his voice — he just speaks louder, and it’s enough to quiet the bickering at the table.

Kihyun tilts his head to the side, and in a contemplating tone asks, “Does it depend on who’s volunteering?”

There are all types of reactions to that: Changkyun crosses his arms, snorting; Jooheon squints his eyes, mouth slightly open — like Kihyun was too far away for him to see; Hyunwoo, to Minhyuk’s surprise, seems especially flustered.

Kihyun tips his chin in triumph.

“We are not risking anyone,” Hyunwoo insists, eyes stubbornly stuck on some imaginary spot between his glass of water and a bowl of salad. “If they want to come—”

“Ah,” Jooheon gasps, going unnaturally still. Like an animal — alert. “Somebody’s here.”

It’s a tight race to the window between Minhyuk and Kihyun, utensils clattering against plates. Something falls off the table but nobody pays it any mind.

And here they are, just outside the back porch window — two wolves, big and dusty gray.

“Now they know that we know,” Kihyun mutters. He’s gripping the blinds, eyes on the animals. “They’re doing their reconnaissance, aren’t they?”

Nobody answers, because there’s a fat chance they’re here to make friends. Only two of them have come, and they stay at a distance perfectly safe to fleet before the pack can even think about going after them.

Minhyuk steps away from the window, pacing in place. “Do you think they’re going to attack anytime soon?”

“Please,” Jooheon whines, hands rising from where they were loosely dangling off his knees to cover his face. “I’m too young to die.”

“Nobody’s dying,” Hyunwoo reassures him, all of them. “Kihyun, come back here.”

Kihyun does, but with a displeased set of his mouth.

It starts raining, the pitter-patter of the raindrops hitting the house loud in the overwhelming silence. When Minhyuk takes another look outside, the two wolves are gone. If the visit was supposed to be threatening, Minhyuk can almost taste the frustration in the air between the five of them. Does it actually make them afraid, or rather bring them closer to breaking their patience in two — Minhyuk isn’t sure.

 

 

But it’s doing something for sure, as Kihyun keeps on tapping at the steering wheel when they go to tank their car and grab some snacks from the gas station. Despite the first impression, Kihyun’s not the ever-serious type. He makes jokes easily and talks almost as much as Minhyuk when he has something to say, an opinion to share. So when the whole ride, nonetheless short, is spent with not even a single word exchanged, Minhyuk knows Kihyun’s not in the best mood.

At the station, neither of them hide all the side-glancing at their surroundings.

“They’ve succeeded in making me paranoid,” Kihyun sighs when they’re picking different flavors of chips off the shelf. “I can’t wait for them to be gone.”

Minhyuk mirrors the sigh, because who if not Kihyun would choose to believe they’re going to come victorious out of this.

“We should have made a pact with another pack,” Kihyun says when they’re out, each of them with a plastic bag dangling by their thighs. “If we got back up, those fuckers would have run with their tails between their legs.”

Minhyuk snorts. Dog jokes are funnier when they aren’t aimed at you.

“At least I know they don’t have one. Any pact, I mean,” Minhyuk clarifies. “This guy, their pack leader—he thinks too highly of himself.”

Kihyun all but bluntly asks, “Does he have some kind of a complex?”

Instead of driving back home as soon as possible, Kihyun leaves the car off after they go in. For a moment, they sit in the dark — heavy clouds cover the sky, the station’s lights not on yet as the day is only nearing its end — with the question hanging loosely between them. It’s not like it’s in need of an answer, not when Minhyuk is here solely because he’s run away from said man.

“He’s clever,” Minhyuk thinks out loud. “But selfish. He builds his strength based on all the people underneath him, and I agree a pack needs to be strong for the alpha to rely on it, but—it’s all on his own rules.” Minhyuk doesn’t try to stop bitterness from bleeding into his voice. “He only cares about literal strength, nothing beyond that,” he stresses, hands fidgeting in his lap.

Kihyun waits one, two beats before he reaches for Minhyuk’s arm, squeezing it shortly but hard. “I hope, in the end, it’s what’s going to be his downfall.”

When the car starts with tires screeching, both are surprised.

“Hey, this is not a movie,” Minhyuk jokes, short of breath at the abrupt action.

“Yeah,” Kihyun mumbles, slowing the car even more, “sorry.”

“Well—maybe we should try being badass. Since, in the movies, the badass ones always win, right?”

Kihyun doesn’t stop laughing until they’re back home and even after that he embarrasses Minhyuk by quoting his words.

 

 

Despite the whole house being completely quiet — except for the soft whirring of the fridge that goes at the weirdest of times, like now for example — Minhyuk can’t sleep.

It’s not that he feels especially troubled by that visit earlier, nor is his wolf making him queasy, but the longer he lies there, the more awake he feels. He has a test tomorrow, one he’s barely studied and wanted to cram in the morning for. If he doesn’t get some sleep, he might end up not studying at all.

On top of that, Hyunwoo is not in his bed.

Minhyuk considers going to Kihyun — at least he’s small enough for them to fit in his single bed. But Kihyun would scold him for kicking him in his sleep or for stealing his blanket, so Minhyuk decides against it. Instead of Kihyun’s bedroom, he heads for the kitchen. Maybe some milk will put him to sleep.

That’s how he finds Hyunwoo, and not only him. On the sofa, he has Jooheon sleeping in his lap. Hyunwoo himself is very much awake. He has a hand over Jooheon’s arm, and with the other he’s playing with Jooheon’s hair, but he raises it to put it over his lips when Minhyuk approaches.

Getting the message, Minhyuk doesn’t say a word. He tip-toes to the sofa, leaning over the back and over Hyunwoo. He reaches his hand to pet Jooheon’s hair, smiling when his bottom lip quivers, a soft sigh escaping past it. When he moves away, it’s only to brace himself on Hyunwoo’s shoulders.

There’s something calming in sharing the same space, to be able to touch each other like that. Back in the summer while staying with the other pack, Minhyuk mostly thought of it as a chore — just another bullshit story their alpha was trying to feed them, about unity, and obviously — power. Minhyuk is a touchy person to begin with, but he only regained the same contentment he once had as a human after coming here. Like now, he wouldn’t need no order to mirror Jooheon and lay in Hyunwoo’s lap as well. At least, he’d be able to fall asleep then. He’s never had any problem with it when he slept in the alpha’s bed.

But Minhyuk also feels oddly selfish, bites his tongue not to call Hyunwoo back to bed and leave Jooheon be. He bumps his head against Hyunwoo’s instead just because he can, and then straightens up. Just before he pushes himself away from the sofa, Hyunwoo reaches out for him. He catches Minhyuk’s wrists and holds him still. Something heavy drops inside Minhyuk’s stomach, and it can’t be his heart because his own ears pick on its hard beat right under his ribs.

“I’ll be back soon,” Hyunwoo says, and it’s hardly a whisper.

Minhyuk grins at him, hiding it behind his palm when a laugh threatens to bubble out of his mouth. Jooheon groans discontentedly, so Minhyuk maneuvers Hyunwoo’s fingers back to Jooheon’s hair, squeezing them just before letting them go. With the final brush of his palm on Hyunwoo’s shoulder, he goes back upstairs.

Just the fact that he lies in Hyunwoo’s bed instead of his own is a great comfort for Minhyuk. He hugs the pillow, smiling at the smell of the alpha. Of the pack. Of home.

Minhyuk isn’t ready to let go of any of those things.

It takes some time for Hyunwoo to return to his room and somehow Minhyuk stays awake the whole time. Bravely, he doesn’t turn away, facing Hyunwoo when he lies beside him.

“Was Jooheon upset again?” he asks, trying to make the contour of Hyunwoo’s face out in the dark.

Hyunwoo is on his back, and his voice carries up to the ceiling when he speaks. “Yeah, he was. His emotions get the better part of him, a lot of times.”

Minhyuk hums. If he squints his eyes enough, he’s able to make the outline of Hyunwoo’s profile against the paled by the darkness wall. “He’s just like that, right? Doesn’t hold it in, and his concerns mostly come out of worry for others. I saw him only yesterday arguing with Changkyun over Changkyun’s homework.”

Hyunwoo agrees, the hint of a smile lacing his words. “He’d probably end up trying to help even you. Just ask Kihyun, he’s been through it all.”

It’s not like Minhyuk needs the first-hand experience to believe it.

Easily distracted, he forgets what he wanted to say, too engulfed straining his eyes to catch any of Hyunwoo’s possible movements. So it doesn’t really startle him when Hyunwoo turns his head. What’s more thrilling is that they end with an inch or maybe two between their noses.

“Sleep?” Hyunwoo asks, his voice quirking at the end.

There's something in Hyunwoo's face and in the tone of his voice that calms Minhyuk down just like that. He nods, cheek brushing against the pillow. “Sleep.”

It’s not awkward at all to fit his head in the crook of Hyunwoo’s shoulder, tossing a little as they both try to arrange their bodies comfortably against one another. When they finally do, Minhyuk is drowsy enough not to get embarrassed and squirmy when Hyunwoo puts his hand right over the one Minhyuk has laid over his chest.

Minhyuk just hopes it all means what he thinks it does.

 

 

It’s still raining — still or maybe again, Minhyuk can’t even tell anymore — when they wake up the next morning. All the noise of it hitting the roof and the porch, along with the clattering of plates and pots downstairs, makes Minhyuk’s senses go on alert from the moment he wakes up.

Then, there’s Changkyun standing by the door, clearing his throat quite suggestively. “Everybody is up. Jooheon will eat your bacon if you don’t hurry.”

An indignant shout of “hey!” coming from the depths of the house makes Changkyun gasp fakely and fleet.

“Ugh,” Minhyuk grunts, lifting himself up off Hyunwoo’s chest with great difficulty.

Hyunwoo doesn’t look like he intends to get up anytime soon. All action he takes comes down to letting out a very tired sigh, but not moving an inch.

“C’mon,” Minhyuk hurries him, “you’ll be grumpy without your morning meat.”

“I’m not grumpy,” Hyunwoo argues.

What a shame Minhyuk’s stunned expression gets ignored as Hyunwoo hasn’t even opened one eye yet.

“Not grumpy? You rejected every offered snack the last time it happened, and you wouldn’t talk at length until, like, evening.”

Eyes closed, Hyunwoo still manages to furrow his eyebrows deeply. “No, no, I didn’t get mad about it.”

“Liar.”

It might be a little bit mean to attack Hyunwoo like that — fingertips digging between his ribs — but Minhyuk can’t help himself, and Hyunwoo’s whines mixed with his laughter only drives him to be more daring. All until the sound of something breaking reaches their ears. They snap their heads in unison, and the next second they’re up and hurrying down the stairs, because a stream of blazing hot curses going through the house can’t mean anything good.

“At least throw those at them,” Kihyun drawls through his teeth, and Minhyuk would think it mean if all three werewolves — Jooheon, Changkyun and Kihyun — weren’t plastered to the window with matching scowls on their faces. The pieces of a shattered mug — empty, at least — remain on the floor, untouched.

No wonder it’s all forgotten, because their backyard is unusually crowded with over a dozen men and women staring right back at them through the window.

“Fighting on an empty stomach is going to suck,” Jooheon says wistfully. “And vampires can’t come.”

Minhyuk doesn’t realize he’s gripping Hyunwoo’s arm, nails digging into his skin, until Hyunwoo peels his hand off. He leads Minhyuk to the table, sidestepping the ceramic pieces scattered all around.

“Let them wait,” Hyunwoo says, eyes roaming over the table to find the most appealing food, “I’m hungry.”

There’s no argument from Changkyun — he walks over to the table right away. Kihyun doesn’t move for a moment, but then with a quiet grumble he follows Changkyun. Jooheon is the one to hesitate the longest. He glances between their pack and the one outside. He doesn’t look very pleased when he finally lets the curtains fall over the window. Like he didn’t just complain about not being able to eat.

When they ask him about it, he gives them a pointed look. “It won’t digest well. Their presence is, like, making me sweat and all.”

Eating in silence is doubling the stress — Minhyuk drops his food at least three times during the meal. Staring at it disapprovingly doesn’t seem to work on making it stay on his fork.

“What do we do next?” Kihyun asks in an oddly conversational tone, like they were discussing what’s for dessert. He keeps smearing jam over his toast, spreading it evenly.

Changkyun is swaying on his chair, stopping only when Jooheon brings it down to the floor with a knock. Minhyuk’s attention is immersed in the silent argument they start with their eyes and brows, and he almost lets the next words slip past his ears.

“We wait,” Hyunwoo shrugs, his bread only half swallowed. “Isn’t it Sunday today?” He finishes his coffee in one big gulp. “We don’t have anywhere to be.”

 

 

Rain doesn’t ease for the next two hours, and neither does the other pack’s stance. They have a few umbrellas but mostly hoods cover their heads. They must be drenched to the bone. Some of them loiter around the trees, but they never really leave. At some point, there’s a knock on the door but they agree not to budge.

“Won’t they, like, force the door?”

Changkyun is swinging a pen between his fingers, and it taps against the book in his lap occasionally. He’s supposed to be doing his readings, but Minhyuk knows he’s not paying it much attention. It’s better than doing nothing, something Minhyuk tried but failed at. Not only his thoughts get too loud, but whatever faint sounds from the outside reach him, it reminds him of the imminent danger, making him hyper aware of everything around him.

It also makes Minhyuk think all the more that they can’t stay in the house forever.

Jooheon is the first to answer. “There are some rules,” he starts explaining. “It’s all unwritten, and there’s nobody to actually keep an eye on it.” He tsks when Changkyun interrupts him with a “No magical werewolf council?” question meant only to tease. “But we have our network, so any mistake on their part? Other packs would find out. It brings us to the point that as much as they want power, I believe they have some sense of self-preservation left in them.”

“But do they play by the rules if they turn people against their will?” Minhyuk argues.

Jooheon scrunches his face, shaking his head, and it’s Kihyun who answers, “There are also things everybody turns a blind eye to.”

This actually explains some things. Minhyuk’s never got their double standards. They would throw rule after rule right in Minhyuk and the other’s faces, but always shielded themselves with that bullshit argument of how a wolf bite was a gift whenever one of them had a contradictory opinion on something. Only having the same mindset as the whole pack and its alpha was acceptable, and it never seemed right to Minhyuk.

“Why can’t they get the hint that I don’t want to share their twisted views?” Minhyuk asks but nobody has an answer to that.

They eat some more and try napping to no avail. They don’t open the door after the second and then third attempt on knocking. Days are especially short at the end of the year, and so sundown approaches sooner than they expect it to. It even stops pouring down, the rain coming to a very faint drizzle.

The sun is bright orange and red, the tips of the trees tickling it as if trying to bring it closer and hold it with their branches, when instead of another knock there’s a loud shout hitting the house walls.

“Quit this silly game! Let’s talk!”

From the pile all around the rather small for so many people sofa, Kihyun is first to emerge.

“Is it time?” He asks, patting Jooheon’s shoulder when he whines into the cushion.

“I bet it is,” Jooheon says, little to no bite in his tone as the words catch with his mouth pressed against the thick material.

Minhyuk rolls his head off Hyunwoo’s lap when the alpha sighs deeply, muscles shifting under Minhyuk’s cheek. Changkyun nudges Minhyuk gently when he gets up as the second to leave the comfort of their little bubble. For a turned wolf, Changkyun is surprisingly strong-willed and amenable. Minhyuk gives him a nod, hair getting messy as his head rubs Hyunwoo’s jean-clad thigh, and Changkyun is fast to turn to Jooheon.

“I know, I know,” Jooheon exhales in resignation, swatting Changkyun’s hand away. “It’s time to kick some asses.”

Changkyun only snorts at that, and they bump against each other as they move to the window, peeking outside from under the curtain.

“I bet it’s freezing outside,” Jooheon murmurs, “or they’re that pissed about us keeping them in the backyard for the whole day.”

“Wouldn’t count my money,” Changkyun quips in, and they share grim chuckles between themselves.

Kihyun pulls his jacket on, and then throws thick scarves at the two youngest. “Bundle up. I can count my money but on one of your asses getting sick. Or your necks bitten, so you better put these on.”

“Good call,” Jooheon agrees. He wraps the scarf around his neck tightly, tutting at Changkyun when he leaves his all loose.

Not very keen on doing so but still with as much vigor as he can muster, Minhyuk gets to his feet, dragging Hyunwoo along. Not that he needs Minhyuk’s help — it just feels better to feel the alpha’s strong pulse under his hand.

“Won’t you wear yours?” Jooheon asks.

They’re all gathered by the door, Kihyun’s hand on the lock.

“I don’t see the point,” Minhyuk shrugs. “He’s bitten me already.”

Minhyuk pushes the door open when Kihyun unlocks it, not waiting for any comment on that. It’s knowledge they must have without saying anything about it out loud. Minhyuk doesn’t need their pity, not now. He’s the first one to step outside.

“Our little stray.”

Minhyuk winces, blinking rapidly, because just seeing this man right in front of him — it’s far from pleasant. “I’m not coming back,” he firmly states, speaking it as loud as he can. “You’re wasting your time.”

“Ah, but—” the alpha says, fake surprise obvious in every one of his gestures. “But you’re my child. I can’t let one of my own just go.”

Standing arm to arm, Jooheon nudges Minhyuk slightly. “Why does he sound like a vampire clan leader?”

Minhyuk’s pretty sure Kihyun muffles a laugh somewhere behind him.

“I have no idea where did you find such an—I don’t want to be rude but—ersatz pack,” the alpha continues. “You won’t achieve anything here!”

It’s like all those months ago — the same words that mean literally nothing to Minhyuk. They’re worse than those of a teacher trying to give you a pep talk about your grades. Power, built on the wrong foundation, derived from the sources it shouldn’t be gained from — it’s something Minhyuk can really get by without. Minhyuk’s strength lies somewhere else.

“There’s nothing I want to achieve in your pack,” Minhyuk argues further. “How am I supposed to be of use if I clearly disagree with everything you stand for? Why won’t you just—” _let me go_.

He doesn’t need to say it out loud, the alpha getting in between his words, “Let you go? Don’t be silly.” The smile on his face is fiendish, and his upper lip curls into a snarl. “You’re mine.”

Frustration, building with every one of Minhyuk’s arguments falling on the alpha’s deaf ears, reaches its peak. Minhyuk all but shouts, “I was never yours! Never!”

The laugh he receives in response only makes the anger rise up even more, and he whines, turning to the side. Jooheon runs his hand up and down Minhyuk’s arm as soon as he falls into him. It’s reassuring and warm — despite the sky not letting the rain off. Minhyuk can see all the tiny droplets dotting his skin when he looks down at the back of his hand.

This is such a vain talk.

And the alpha doesn’t give up, continuing, “You may smell like them, you may even reek of the other alpha—” Minhyuk winces, again, fingers closing around the hem of his sweater. Hyunwoo’s sweater. “But the mark on you is no one else’s but mine.”

So it all comes down to this — the bite, and who branded you, like he’s some kind of a toy to toss around.

“It doesn’t look like your new friends care so much, because let’s be real — do you really belong here?”

Minhyuk doesn’t turn back to him, doesn’t think he can without screaming at the guy to get the fuck out of his life, among other profanities. But there’s somebody else to answer — Minhyuk feels the shift between them, and then Hyunwoo is stepping forward. The set of his jaw is hard.

“He doesn’t need teeth around his neck to belong anywhere,” Hyunwoo says. His voice sounds firm, but his tone is as nice to listen to as always. “We didn’t greet each other. Isn’t it a bit—”

Hyunwoo doesn’t finish on purpose, Minhyuk’s sure, but he doesn’t need to — the other alpha seems affronted anyway.

“You don’t have the right to accuse me of anything since you won’t return what’s mine to me.” At that, Hyunwoo’s expression hardens even more. “You should have marked him, alpha.”

Too afraid Hyunwoo may lose it — though Minhyuk doesn’t remember he’s ever had — Minhyuk grabs his wrist. It doesn’t go unnoticed.

“I’m pretty sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” The alpha speaks again. He takes a step closer, then another, and they tighten their formation at that.

Hyunwoo’s trying to push Minhyuk behind himself, and he looks over at Minhyuk with a stern expression when he doesn’t budge. _No_ , Minhyuk shakes his head. Their conversation is not over yet.

“It’s Minhyuk’s call to make,” Hyunwoo says, following every step of the other alpha. “Something you took away from him the first time.”

Of course, the statement is met with a loud snort. “Don’t bullshit me. You take something, or it gets taken away from you. It’s as simple as that.”

It’s getting ridiculous, and Minhyuk feels like he’s slowly losing the ground from under his feet. The chances that the other alpha won’t attack at some point are close to zero. He wouldn’t be here with half of his pack if he wasn’t planning to take an actual action.

Minhyuk bites his lip, fingers still wrapped around Hyunwoo’s hand.

Is this really why Hyunwoo hasn’t marked Minhyuk yet? Out of concern? He’s never even proposed doing it. Has he been waiting for Minhyuk to, this whole time?

So many questions to which Minhyuk doesn’t have time to search the answers for.

He tugs at Hyunwoo’s wrist. “Hyunwoo,” he calls, but the alpha doesn’t seem to hear him. “Hyunwoo.”

Nothing. It’s like Hyunwoo is leading a silent battle with the other alpha — like he could make him go away just with his unrelenting gaze. Minhyuk knows better it won’t work. He tries to bring Hyunwoo’s attention back to himself once more, this time by stepping right between the two alphas.

“Hyunwoo,” he calls, ever tenacious. He grabs Hyunwoo by the lapels of his jacket, ready to shake him if he doesn’t listen this time. “Just do it. Bite me.”

Like resurfacing from deep waters, Hyunwoo takes a shuddering breath, eyes refocusing on Minhyuk’s face. He blinks down at him. “Minhyuk, you—”

“No,” Minhyuk protests, indeed shaking Hyunwoo a little, and getting a substantial level of satisfaction when Hyunwoo stumbles forward a little. “Listen carefully, now. I want you to bite me. As implied, it’s been long overdue. So do it.”

The other alpha laughs, like it’s some kind of joke. Or maybe he doesn’t believe Hyunwoo would; or if Hyunwoo did, he’s sure he’d be able to stop it.

“Have you thought it through?” Hyunwoo asks, brows knitted tightly together. “I don’t want you to regret—”

Irritated, Minhyuk groans and yanks Hyunwoo closer, crashing their mouths together.

It’s nothing much, really — not deep enough to call it dirty, nor long enough to make each other dizzy. But it’s as searing as it goes, and it works all the same. When Minhyuk ends the kiss, Hyunwoo is lost for words.

Minhyuk takes over, to remind Hyunwoo what it means. “I want it, and I’m giving you my permission, just—”

The grass on the backyard is soaked with rain so it gives a distinctive squelch when somebody stomps on it. That’s how Minhyuk picks up on people moving, knows the other alpha must have taken another step when he hears a stream of curses a lot closer than before, and the urgency kicks in.

From the other side, Kihyun spats, “God damn it, Hyunwoo—”

But then, in perfect synchronization, just as Minhyuk tilts his head to the side, Hyunwoo noses down Minhyuk’s neck and bites down.

The rush of adrenaline and pain runs through Minhyuk’s body, the roar of his own heartbeat dulling the noises around him. He’s aware of the angry scream from the alpha, and also of the snarls and shouts from both packs, but it all pales in comparison to the bite and how it burns every cell of Minhyuk’s being. It eases, though not completely, when Hyunwoo’s teeth are finally off. Minhyuk’s head lolls to the other side and Hyunwoo puts it against his shoulder, forehead first.

Minhyuk fights not to lose consciousness like the first time, but the darkness behind his eyelids is calling for him.

  


   



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forgot to post the next chapter last week sorry! but just in time for shine forever... *^* only last chapter to go and it's basically an extra hehe rating is going to change for it, too!

 

It looks like it’s got deliberately darker when Minhyuk blinks his eyes open, even though it must have been seconds only. The sun, if it isn’t already, should be down any minute now. Something to look forward to.

 

“Minhyuk, I’m—” Hyunwoo starts, but never finishes. The hand that was cradling the unhurt side of Minhyuk’s neck slips away as Kihyun pulls Minhyuk away. The pain remains prominent enough for Minhyuk to let himself be guided, and he falls onto Kihyun’s side pliantly.

 

Somebody behind them yells “Move!” and all hell breaks loose.

 

Everything happens so fast Minhyuk only realizes someone — the alpha — is on him when Changkyun collides with the man right in front of him. It gives Hyunwoo enough time to gather his wits and attack.

 

“On, no, no, no—” Minhyuk chants, observing with wide eyes as the other alpha’s jaws crack with his fangs elongating, claws emerging from the tips of his fingers. Half turned, he crouches, ready to jump and attack.

 

And then another person is screaming from the opposite direction, right from above. Changkyun uses the occasion to scoot back to the pack, away from the alpha’s potential outrage. It makes Minhyuk somewhat calmer, and then he’s releasing a further whimper of relief when he turns, wincing as the freshly cut skin of the wound pulls. Perched on the roof there are two familiar vampires on standby.

 

Hyungwon jumps down first.

 

The other alpha’s claws don’t retreat — he doesn’t let his hands lower even an inch. “You’re not a part of—who the fuck—”

 

Hyungwon smiles, and Hoseok, already by his side, gives him a look.

 

It’s dark, and from Minhyuk’s perspective he can’t tell if Hyungwon’s fangs are visible. He can, though, guess just right from the confusion written all over the alpha’s face. He’s stunned for a few seconds, expression turning into an irritated scowl as he side-eyes his pack, now huddled together behind him.

 

“How come none of you knew about it?” he snaps, teeth clashing together from how visibly mad he is, jaw taut and eyes askance. He doesn’t get an answer, and he zeroes in on the vampires again. “May you be cursed twice, suckers,” he spits out.

 

Hyunwoo steps from one foot to the other, as if in impatience, and later Minhyuk is totally going to laugh at how the other alpha trips as he takes a wobbly step back. 

 

“All that’s going to happen twice tonight is me having a meal if you do not leave,” Hyungwon says. There’s no bite to it, just his usual soft, sleepy voice. Somehow, it makes it more threatening. “So you better go. For good.”

 

“Yeah,” Hoseok agrees. He gives them a broad smile, whole set of teeth in sight. “Disappear.”

 

They’re weighing their options, this much is clear. The alpha doesn’t just turn away and run. One vampire is stronger than a werewolf, it’s easy math. But Minhyuk counts fourteen for the other pack, and comparing those with the seven of them plus two vampires makes the equation all the more complicated.

 

When the silence goes on, the other alpha still hesitating, Hyungwon speaks up once again. “This is not only another pack’s territory, but also a place where vampires are nesting. So it’s not only a bad opinion among werewolves you’re striving to have. Between vampires, even if wolves tend to be bigger individuals than we are, a good network of information goes around as well.”

 

“I know you’re already thinking on bringing the other half of the pack with you,” Minhyuk throws in. He’s a better fighter with words anyway, so he decides to take the last chance here. “I know you do,” he says insistently seeing the alpha’s disregarding expression. “But even if you win, even if you, I don’t know, kill me?” There’s a ghost of desperation in the tone of Minhyuk’s voice, the seriousness of it all hitting him even harder than before. “Is this what you want? I’m not even that important, and yet you’re getting yourself in so much trouble—for what? To piss every supernatural creature in the country and beyond?”

 

The alpha looks affronted by Minhyuk’s bold words.

 

“If you’re trying to ridicule me—”

 

“No!” Minhyuk protests, frustrated to no end. His words just won’t transmit to the alpha, and it gets on Minhyuk’s nerves, and most probably not only on his. “I just want you to leave us alone. All I’m trying to say, what the vampires have tried to say, is that I’m actually not worth this whole sham.”

 

“It’s hard to argue with that,” the alpha spats. He’s no longer pointing his claws at them, though he obviously stays wary — one knee bent, foot put out. “Even if I go,” he says, then stops to lick his lips and shift his eyes between Hyunwoo and the vampires. “Even if I go, it’s not over. You won’t ever be sure of it.”

 

“We’ll take that risk,” Kihyun says, easy as breathing.

 

With a final snarl, mouth snapping shut but teeth bare, the alpha turns on his heels.

 

What Minhyuk is able to catch with his eyes before the rest of the pack follows their leader are their mixed expressions. Most of them seem to agree with the decision, but a few are visibly disappointed. Minhyuk is sure the alpha won’t let any objections arise, and even if they did — he’s going to stifle them before they can turn into doubt. That’s why they choose to stay quiet. Minhyuk remembers. As much as individual talents and strength are valued by the alpha, it doesn’t include anyone’s strong opinions. Especially those in opposition to his own.

 

Some of them may never learn how wrong being treated like that is.

 

“We should get some pet vampires, too.”

 

The one who says it, big and brazen, gets a hard slap on the head. “I can make you into one, a pet, anytime if you don’t stop speaking unasked.”

 

Before Minhyuk knows what he’s doing, he slides down onto the grass, legs giving out under him. The other pack disappears between the trees, and he can let his eyes lower at last, let himself breathe in deeply. He can feel his new bite, the burn of it ever present.

 

“Fuck,” Hyungwon mumbles into the night. “That was close.” He looks up high, tips of his fangs pressing into his bottom lip slightly. “Stressful enough to make me hungry. And sleepy.”

 

Hoseok loops their arms together. “Don’t be silly, you just got up,” he chides, but it’s said fondly. “Are we unwinding somehow, though? Because I think we shouldn’t leave you alone just yet.”

 

“Sure,” Minhyuk says weakly. “Just—” he waves his hands, and Jooheon hurries to lift him up. “Let me cool off a bit.”

 

He doesn’t realize how muddy and wet he got himself by kneeling on the ground, and he only learns it when he takes the first step; his heavy jeans weigh him down, rubbing against his knees uncomfortably. There’s Hyunwoo’s hand hovering behind Minhyuk’s back, he can feel it brushing his clothes as they move inside. Hyunwoo helps Minhyuk take his jacket off. He doesn’t move to do the same with his, though.

 

Hyunwoo loiters by his side, so Minhyuk conveniently waits for everyone to move further into the house. He sticks his tongue out at Hoseok when he gives him a sleazy smile.

 

When they’re alone, Hyunwoo is first to go off. “Minhyukkie, I’m sorry, I—”

 

But Minhyuk won’t have any of this. “No, stop!” he protests, but it doesn’t satisfy Hyunwoo as he starts apologizing again. Minhyuk, with a sigh, helps Hyunwoo put his own jacket away. “It’s something we should’ve done a lot earlier.” He searches Hyunwoo’s eyes, and turns his lips up tentatively. “Because I’m staying. Right?”

 

Hyunwoo looks confused most of the time, just like now. Minhyuk finds it especially adorable, and just to tease him more, he keeps repeating “Right?” until Hyunwoo breaks into a laugh.

 

“Of course you are,” he says at last, touching Minhyuk’s neck where the wound is. It doesn’t hurt per se now — there are mostly bruises, but already fading into yellows and greens. Come morning all there’ll be left will be a faint scar. Hyunwoo’s smile widens when Minhyuk doesn’t jerk away or wince. “Staying for good.”

 

“If you’re making out down there, I swear to—”

 

Embarrassment also looks cute on Hyunwoo. Minhyuk will have all the time he needs to catch it on his face whenever, but for now he turns his head, just so he can stand up to Kihyun’s teasing. “What, put hives in our bed?”

 

Hyunwoo is especially fast to object. He has to raise his voice so Kihyun would hear him over Hoseok’s sudden outburst of laughter as Minhyuk finally catches on the bad dog jokes. “Hey, the bed is out of question!” He doesn’t address Minhyuk’s little slip up.

 

Aware of his dirty pants, Minhyuk turns to go. “C’mon. I need to change. There’s a big chance of a puppy pile tonight. I need my pajamas for that.”

 

Hyunwoo hums an affirmative, and he assesses Minhyuk for only a second before he leans in to give him a kiss. It goes sideways; noses bumping and lips missing their aim for an inch, but it still feels good. Looks like Minhyuk has been reading Hyunwoo right all along. He beams up at him just before he jumps up the stairs to steal some of the alpha’s clothes yet again — now with a new, more legitimate reason to.

 

 

 

They get tired sooner than they thought they would, and Hosek complains, calling them as bad as Hyungwon. Although, Hyungwon isn’t sleeping. He might be wrapped around Hoseok snuggly, stretching every syllable when he speaks. Jooheon snores every once in a while, and everytime he does, Changkyun makes a face. Minhyuk ruffles his hair, and Changkyun cringes even more, completely exasperated.

 

Hyunwoo keeps playing with the hem of Minhyuk’s hoodie.

 

“We better get going,” Hoseok finally says. His wine-tinted orbs drag over the pack. They stop at Kihyun, who’s dozing off with his head lolling to the side — once to the right, then to the left. Hoseok grins, straightening his leg and poking Kihyun in the belly with his toe. “Look out!”

 

Kihyun wakes with a start, puffy eyes going round in alert. And then they narrow into two thin lines. “Ha, ha.”

 

Hoseok only laughs more, loud enough to stir Jooheon awake, too, and cause Hyungwon to slap a hand over his own mouth.

 

“Ouch,” Hyungwon gasps, hand retreating quickly.

 

Hoseok’s smile slips off his face. “Sorry, they just—” He makes a vague motion around his mouth. “It’s a habit, I guess. Let me see.”

 

Minhyuk observes as Hoseok’s expression hardens in concentration, only to smooth over after turning the hand this and that way.

 

“There were two drops of blood, at best,” he says, all happy with himself. He brings his thumbs to his mouth, sucking on it briefly. “You patch up nicely.”

 

“You better not spill any of it,” Kihyun warns them. His words stick a bit together, sleep-laced, and it makes Kihyun sound more cute than threatening. “We have enough laundry to do after today, and adding dry cleaning to the mix—no, thanks.”

 

Minhyuk perks up at that. “I don’t have any classes until an evening one tomorrow so I’m going to take care of it.”

 

“I can go in later,” Hyunwoo offers. Minhyuk blinks up at him, surprised. “There are sheets and stuff to wash, too.”

 

“Does it mean what I think it means?” Kihyun asks flatly.

 

Hyunwoo never reprimands them physically, so Minhyuk pinches Kihyun extra hard for the comment.

 

Not getting his eyes off the screen, Changkyun wonders out loud, voice steady, sounding almost bored. “Don’t you wash them after sex, though?”

 

Knowing sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut, Minhyuk decides to rest his case here. He needs to bite his tongue again when Jooheon — very openly — high-fives Changkyun. Minhyuk starts counting to ten to keep it in but then Hyunwoo, from playing with the string of Minhyuk’s hood, moves his hand to rest it on Minhyuk’s neck — right over the bite mark. Funny, how it distracts Minhyuk away from the teasing and calms him down at the same time.

 

“Speaking of bed and sheets,” Hoseok quips in, “we better get going. Next time, you go for a run and stop by at our place.”

 

“Sure,” Hyunwoo agrees easily, waving the vampires goodbye. ”I’ll give you a call.”

 

They disappear in the blink of an eye.

 

Everyone goes to their respective beds — everyone except Minhyuk. Still in his hoodie, he slips under the covers even before Hyunwoo does, rubbing his cold feet together, and waits. He almost falls asleep as he listens to Hyunwoo talking to every one of the pack, one after another. Hyunwoo tries to be quiet as he climbs onto the bed, but it dips under his weight enough for Minhyuk to blink his eyes open.

 

“Did I wake you up? Sorry,” he apologizes in a hushed voice, and then does it again when he trips over Minhyuk’s shin and falls onto the mattress in a heap.

 

Minhyuk tugs at the blankets, helps Hyunwoo get under them, and then, finally, curls beside him comfortably. He sticks his feet between Hyunwoo’s, smiling in satisfaction when Hyunwoo doesn’t kick them away — they’re still cold.

 

Sleep doesn’t come as quickly as Minhyuk wishes, doubling the frustration because he was so close to drifting off for good a moment ago. He wriggles, gets closer to Hyunwoo, and digs his chin into his shoulder.

 

“Can’t sleep?”

 

Easy observation, Minhyuk thinks. He says instead, “I almost did, before, but I feel like I’m too tired to even properly rest.” He turns his head, now lying cheek-flat on Hyunwoo’s chest. “The whole waiting was draining. Mostly mentally, but still—so tiring”

 

“I know.” Hyunwoo’s arm wraps around Minhyuk, fingers easily finding their way into Minhyuk’s hair. “I feel like I could—I don’t know, kick a tree.” Minhyuk snorts, and Hyunwoo pinches his cheek. “I feel like I’m still buzzing. I almost regret not fighting anyone tonight.”

 

“Don’t say that.” Minhyuk remembers how outnumbered they were earlier tonight, and how if a real fight had ensued, there wouldn’t have been a chance for them to come out of it unscathed. Alive, even. The memory of how the other alpha trains his pack remains fresh in Minhyuk’s memory. “If the only way to win is to kill, then kill,” he recites out loud. “That’s what he taught us—them.”

 

“I’m glad we didn’t, then,” Hyunwoo admits. “There are other ways to use one’s energy up rather than letting yourself be killed.”

 

For a moment, Minhyuk is stunned. “Was that a joke?” he asks, then shakes his head. “Or are you suggesting something?”

 

Hyunwoo chuckles. “Not really,” he says sheepishly. “They’d think it was, wouldn’t they?”

 

It obvious he’s talking about the rest of the pack, and Minhyuk, in all honesty, confirms they definitely would.

 

Minhyuk falls silent, the seriousness of their previous conversation still hanging thickly between them. The thought of how badly it could have ended makes his heart give a terrified leap. Hyunwoo certainly hears — or feels — it as he starts touching Minhyuk’s face, knuckles brushing over the cheekbone that isn’t hidden in the pillow, and down Minhyuk’s jaw.

 

Somehow, the gentle touches end up with them kissing — Hyunwoo being the initiator for the second time this evening. It only solidifies Minhyuk in his belief they both want it. Hyunwoo’s palm is a comforting warmth on his cheek where he puts it flat to keep Minhyuk in place.

 

“You’ll give me a burn if you keep stroking my cheek,” Minhyuk says when they pull apart.

 

Hyunwoo’s looking down at Minhyuk — this much Minhyuk can make in the dark with the proximity between them being this small — and he stops his thumb mid-action, letting his hand fall from Minhyuk’s face onto the pillow. “Ah, sorry, it’s just—”

 

“I know,” Minhyuk interrupts him, smiling. Hyunwoo, for how calloused he is, never really stops being careful. Except for training, maybe, but that’s a good quality in an alpha. At least that’s what Minhyuk thinks. His smile widens. “I like it.”

 

“But it’ll give you a burn if I keep going,” Hyunwoo repeats as if it’s a statement not to be challenged.

 

It’s Minhyuk’s turn to put his mouth on Hyunwoo first. But he’s also the first to stop. Outside the room, the quietness of the night is disturbed by the soft sound of shuffling feet. Hyunwoo is first frowning at Minhyuk, and then — deeper — at the door.

 

“You’re not naked, are you?” comes a scruffy voice that must only belong to Jooheon.

 

When Hyunwoo answers he sounds exasperated, but not mad. “No, we’re not.”

 

“I know it’s not the best time,” Jooheon continues, peeking from around the doorframe and then leaning on it heavily. “But I can’t sleep.”

 

“You’re not getting the middle!” Minhyuk blurts in a rush, already crowding Hyunwoo against the wall. “You can be the big spoon.”

 

Groaning loud enough for Kihyun to yell at them to finally shut up, Jooheon pads to the bed. “But you’re a kicker. And you steal blankets!”

 

Jooheon gets onto the bed, and they shuffle, the blanket definitely too small for the three of them. It’s Hyunwoo who gives up most of his bit, but not without a sigh. Jooheon clings to Minhyuk without an ounce of shame, cheek smashed against Minhyuk’s shoulder blade.

 

All Hyunwoo has to add at Minhyuk warning Jooheon not to drool, is a chuckle. Minhyuk would call him out on it, maybe bite him in retaliation, if Jooheon wasn’t there with them. Instead he deflates, making himself as comfortable as he can with two werewolves all around him. At least being in the middle gets him the blanket privilege.

 

Sleep doesn’t come fast enough, and Minhyuk stirs when Jooheon hums against him contentedly, hot breath making Minhyuk’s shirt stick to his back. Minhyuk lets out a sigh of his own, and just as warm between them huddled so close together. Jooheon whines when Minhyuk wriggles his feet restlessly. It’s cute. “How is that instead of a big bad wolf, you’re just—”

 

“Finish it, and the next time we train I won’t hold back in kicking your ass,” Jooheon mumbles into Minhyuk’s shirt.

 

It’s far from threatening, but Minhyuk holds the laugh in, just so Jooheon can have the last word. The threatening effect is all lost anyway with how slurred out his words are, and especially with his arm thrown over Minhyuk’s middle, fingers curling around Minhyuk’s shirt momentarily before they go slack again.

 

Hyunwoo says the final goodnight then and pecks Minhyuk on the forehead.

 

“Ew, must you—”

 

Minhyuk kicks Jooheon then, rather hard — just to prove his point. His bed, his rules. It’s official now.   
  


 

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

The whole house is quiet when Minhyuk blinks his eyes open. Well, not entirely quiet, no. Changkyun is playing on his phone, Minhyuk can hear him all the way down the hall in his room — soft padding of his fingers over the screen, volume turned down. Jooheon must be still sleeping, but Kihyun is downstairs, humming a soft melody just for himself. He’s not preparing breakfast yet. Either he drinks his coffee, comfortably alone, or watches the morning news on mute. Maybe both?

Minhyuk curls his fingers into the soft material of Hyunwoo’s shirt, and then lays it back flat over his chest. There are three tiny buttons at the low collar, and Minhyuk busies himself with playing with them, waiting for Hyunwoo to open his eyes.

Minhyuk’s lips quirk up. It’s the first night Jooheon hasn’t slept in their bed — the first night since the shift in their relationship. The first night after the pack that tried to bring Minhyuk back left, Minhyuk wasn’t even that mad. Jooheon is emotional and temperamental, and so is his wolf. Pack cuddles are always welcome, but the second night he stood in their doorway with a sheepish smile, Minhyuk furrowed his brows before he remembered to school his expression into a more friendly one. He didn’t want Jooheon to get the wrong idea that they didn’t want him there, but — Minhyuk does usually enjoy having more blankets to himself. And more Hyunwoo, because Jooheon insisted on sleeping in the middle this time.

If it had happened for the third time, Minhyuk would have probably gotten upset. Thankfully, Jooheon stayed in his room, and Minhyuk could wrap himself around Hyunwoo and get a satisfying goodnight kiss. And now he can wake up to this — only the two of them on the bed, something that allows Minhyuk to start undoing the tiny buttons of Hyunwoo’s shirt without Jooheon yelling to stop with the indecencies.

Minhyuk’s smile widens. He’s doing it mostly because he’s grown bored; he wants Hyunwoo to finally wake up. And so he does, when Minhyuk’s fingers tickle the exposed skin of his chest.

“Min—” Hyunwoo grunts, the hand he’s kept over the pillow falling to bury his fingers in Minhyuk’s tousled hair. “Is breakfast ready?”

Minhyuk groans, turning his face to press it onto Hyunwoo’s arm. “No,” he mumbles against the short sleeve of Hyunwoo’s shirt. His mouth catches the edge, upper lip on the material and the bottom one against the bare skin. He closes his teeth around it, drags it an inch up to expose more of Hyunwoo’s arm. “I’m bored.”

Hyunwoo lets out an exasperated sound — something between a snort and a laugh. It’s fond. “You tell Kihyun not to call you a pup, but you’re really—”

“Not now,” Minhyuk cuts him off. Hyunwoo’s brows hitch, and Minhyuk is fast to reach his hand to Hyunwoo’s face in an attempt to smooth it away. “No puppy talk in bed.”

It looks like Hyunwoo catches on the fact Minhyuk isn’t mad at him, and his features relax again. “Noted.”

Minhyuk’s hand goes back to the unbuttoned shirt, tugging at the part with the little holes for the buttons. “Kiss me,” he says, and the words come to him easier than he would’ve thought.

Despite it being Minhyuk’s request, it’s him who leans over to attach them at the mouth. Hyunwoo is ready, lips slightly parted and closing fast around Minhyuk’s. They kiss slowly, lazily — just what an early morning requires of them. Their noses bump against each other when they change the angle, and they smile into another kiss that follows.

Climbing over Hyunwoo is also easy. One of Minhyuk’s legs was already thrown over Hyunwoo’s thighs so all Minhyuk has to do is shift his weight and then he’s sitting in Hyunwoo’s lap, going for yet another kiss — deeper this time. Dirtier.

It feels good to control the kiss. It’s even nicer to feel Hyunwoo’s hands move from Minhyuk’s face down to his arms, and then even lower, to his hips. It’s all good, and Minhyuk’s mind is already set on doing it again in the future — any chance he gets, really — but right now there’s something he would like even more. He makes a whiny, embarrassing sound at the back of his throat, and he’s amazed Hyunwoo actually gets it as he rolls them over carefully. He presses Minhyuk into the bed, hand on the small of his back bringing them that little bit closer, and fuck. That escalated quickly.

Hyunwoo’s hips move, and Minhyuk’s respond right away. The kiss halts to a stop, and Minhyuk lets another tiny sound right into Hyunwoo’s mouth.

The contrast in their attire is funny — Hyunwoo’s wearing a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that surprisingly has sleeves, and it’s actually Minhyuk who’s in a tank top, with his legs bare. The drop of temperature outside made them start heating the house, what in turn made Minhyuk wear less clothes. And it was easier to kick the covers than take his clothes off at night. But then Hyunwoo, with the blankets gone, would become chilly — thus he wears more covering clothes to sleep now.

Kihyun must have checked on the heating already, because their room grows warmer. Or Minhyuk’s projecting, with Hyunwoo on top of him serving as a heating blanket. The tension between them doesn’t make the temperature go lower, either.

“Definitely no puppies here,” Hyunwoo says, and it would sound dirty if Minhyuk didn’t find it simply funny. He chokes, undecided between laughing and groaning at the silly comment.

Minhyuk’s hand comes back to the unbuttoned shirt, probably stretching it further with how hard he pulls at it. He clamps his teeth around Hyunwoo’s shoulder, putting enough pressure for it not to hurt but give a warning. Hyunwoo doesn’t even react to that, not with anything Minhyuk’s able to note anyway, so he bites down harder. Hyuwnoo exhales above him, moving his hips again. He might be wearing sweatpants, but Minhyuk’s pretty sure he’s skipped on the underwear by the way his cock slides over the jut of Minhyuk’s hip.

Minhyuk lets his jaw loose, switching from using his teeth to his mouth. He kisses up Hyunwoo’s neck, and that’s when he notices, right over Hyunwoo’s shoulder, that the door to their room isn’t closed.

“Hey, the door—” Minhyuk starts saying but with his mouth detached Hyunwoo easily turns his head and drags his wet lips over the tendon of Minhyuk’s neck. It’s pretty distracting. “Ah,” he moans, shuddering like the leaves touched by wind, “Ah, Hyunwoo, the  _ door _ —”

“Leave it be,” Hyunwoo suggests, lightly, like it’s an everyday thing to keep the doors unlocked — open — when they’re doing — this.

Hyunwoo rocks his hips again, and Minhyuk forgets about the door for a second, and then another five when Hyunwoo puts his mouth on Minhyuk’s again.

It feels good to have Hyunwoo over him — his hips are full, and they somehow fit between Minhyuk’s thin thighs. Minhyuk hands are itching to touch him everywhere, and so he does. He rolls the shirt up to palm up Hyunwoo’s stomach, squeeze his sides, lightly scratch over the dip of his spine.

Hyunwoo ends up pulling the shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. Minhyuk would give everything to press their naked chests together, but it’s too good to give up on Hyunwoo’s weight on top of him just so Minhyuk could get rid of his clothes as well. He decides to work with what he has.

Just as Minhyuk thought, Hyunwoo isn’t wearing any underwear — when he slips his hands down his back and under the hem of his sweatpants there’s only skin underneath. Smooth and hot, the cheeks round and so different from Minhyuk’s.

“You have the best ass,” Minhyuk says without thinking, squeezing it for good measure, the embarrassment not catching up with him, replaced by awe when Hyunwoo’s hips stutter and he moans. Minhyuk squeezes harder, but instead of another moan he gets a growl instead.   
  


It does nothing to stop Minhyuk’s impulses.

“You have a nice butt, too,” Hyunwoo says when he finally gets to distract Minhyuk by pulling his underwear down. He specially drags his fingernails over Minhyuk’s hips when he does so, smiling like an overgrown puppy as he goes. It drives Minhyuk crazy, both the comparison and the fact that that smile is just there. He gapes at Hyunwoo with his mouth open, making Hyunwoo ask all innocent, “What?”

“You’re unbelievable.”

Hyunwoo beams down at him, and Minhyuk might have hit him if he didn’t have better ideas for how to spend the rest of their morning. He pulls at Hyunwoo’s sweatpants with all hands and feet until the offending piece of clothes is at Hyunwoo’s knees. He whines in dissatisfaction when his own briefs won’t let him wrap his legs around Hyunwoo properly.

“I’ve got you,” Hyunwoo says, grabbing a wriggling Minhyuk by the hip to keep him still. “Easy.”

Minhyuk almost says “I’m easy for you” or something as mood-ruining but bites his tongue in time. He does bite it a little when Hyunwoo reaches between them, wrapping his big hand around them.

“Oh my—” Minhyuk starts but his voice catches and he whines with the first drag of Hyunwoo’s fist. “Fuck.”

With the others in the house and the door ajar Minhyuk should restrain himself more, but it’s not as easy as one would think. Not when you’re with somebody like Hyunwoo in bed, panting right into your mouth and tugging at your cock with a pace that should be forbidden. And so Minhyuk moans, rather loudly, when Hyunwoo scatters small bites down Minhyuk’s neck to all of this.

“Shh,” Hyunwoo murmurs against Minhyuk’s ear. It does not help. “They’ll tease you later.”

It’s Minhyuk’s turn to let a little growl past his lips; he’s miffed with the reminder. “Then keep me quiet,” he says but it sounds weaker than he’s intended, more vulnerable and sweet.

His eyes travel to the ceiling and then close but Hyunwoo doesn’t give him a break. He catches Minhyuk’s lips with his, swallows another one of Minhyuk’s moans when he speeds up. Minhyuk catches the sound of some threads from his briefs giving up when he opens his legs wider, and he would laugh if he wasn’t too busy shoving his tongue down Hyunwoo’s throat.

Minhyuk shudders when he’s close and he manages to sneak his hands around Hyunwoo to grab at his ass again. To Minhyuk’s surprise — and delight — Hyunwoo comes first. Minhyuk wonders if it’s just because of the familiarity of working himself off, or Minhyuk’s hands on him actually help. Or maybe it’s a bit of both — Minhyuk doesn’t have time to think about it for long. Hyunwoo’s grip on him changes, gets sloppier but tighter, and Minhyuk comes with his teeth dug into Hyunwoo’s shoulder to muffle the sounds he can’t really control (or maybe he doesn’t want to so he can let Hyunwoo know how much he enjoys it.)

Most of the mess ends up on Minhyuk, though Hyunwoo is undeniably sweatier. No wonder — he did most of the job. Minhyuk manages to wipe the droplets of sweat that litter his forehead with the back of his hand before Hyunwoo is rolling off him.

Minhyuk props himself on his elbow. He doesn’t try suppressing a smile. “More of a workout than training us?” he asks teasingly. He kicks his briefs off his legs, catching Hyunwoo’s ankle accidentally.

Hyunwoo grunts but doesn’t move. “We’ll get to the more intense training, don’t worry,” he answers easily.

That’s — Minhyuk squints down at him, not sure what he actually meant: that he’ll be cutting Minhyuk some slack at their Saturday spar-offs, or that there’ll be more sex in the future?

“You haven’t fought with Jooheon for real yet,” Hyunwoo continues, and it makes Minhyuk laugh. He looks up at him questioningly.

Minhyuk shakes his head. “I just thought—you know, about sex. More of it, actually.”

In case Hyunwoo is embarrassed with the topic, Minhyuk decides to be the one speaking about it, even as he feels his ears heating up. The apprehension turns out to be redundant. Hyunwoo smiles back at him the way he likes best — eyes disappearing and mouth curling up in the sweetest way possible.

Hyunwoo tries opening his eyes some when he speaks, and it makes him look even more adorable. “That, too.”

It’s so easy between them, and Hyunwoo is so sincere Minhyuk feels his heart swell. He leans in to press his own smile to Hyunwoo’s lips.

Sated, Minhyuk must blink his eyes open a couple of times as they start dropping. He wasn’t sleepy at all when he woke up earlier today, but now… He wouldn’t say no to a nap.

But naps are out of question. The door screeches a little as somebody pushes it to open wider.

Fully aware of the fact they’re pretty much naked — dirty, too — Minhyuk shifts enough so they cover each other’s fronts. Too bad it makes his ass, in its whole glory, be on full display this way.

“Ugh.” It’s Kihyun, and he pointedly stares at the wall. He has a towel wrapped around his neck, with only his jeans on. He scrunches his face but refuses to look at them. “Breakfast is being made. Hurry up and shower.”

Hyunwoo, without any shame in the world, asks, “Oh, what are we eating?”

It prompts Kihyun to finally look down, and Minhyuk grins. All the sleepiness is gone thanks to the look on Kihyun’s face. Minhyuk wiggles his ass for good measure and Kihyun throws his towel at him. His loss — Minhyuk might or might not use it to wipe come off himself.

Kihyun purses his lips but answers Hyunwoo nonetheless. “Kids are making some toasts.”

There’s an indignant shout from downstairs, Jooheon’s whiny tone unmistakeable. All three of them ignore it.

“Just—shower,” Kihyun repeats. Hyunwoo hums agreeably. “Don’t flaunt it in front of others if you’re not going to share.”

It gives Minhyuk a start. “Share what?” he asks, but Kihyun ignores him and disappears down the hall. “Share who?!” he yells after him and this time he gets an answer — a haunting laugh that works on Minhyuk like a red rag on a bull.

Hyunwoo pulls him down for a kiss, distracting Minhyuk enough so he doesn’t go after Kihyun just as he is — butt-naked and come-covered.

He never learns what Kihyun meant. Or who.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that's a wrap! thanks for sticking around and..see you in the future, i hope? i mean!! i have at least one more mx fic, will have soon, i'm trying to finish it,, in between my meltdowns, that is :o  
> i'm still at twitter [here](http://twitter.com/rikli), soon moving to the new one [here](http://twitter.com/hybridrep) so come and say hi!

**Author's Note:**

> the idea of were minhyuk was just too good for me to pass on and here we are! the fic is mostly written, just needs some cosmetics, and its content is going to be pg except for the last chapter! all thanks to eva my little beta helper whom i love <3  
> 


End file.
